Wheels of Fate
by ichiro92
Summary: It's been ten years since Aizen's defeat at Fake Karakura Town and the fall of the arrancars. Peace has returned to Soul Society until a certain visit changes all of that. Now the Gotei 13 must stop this new enemy. Rated T for occassional language.
1. Prologue: Then and Now

Hey everyone. This is my first Fanfiction story based off of Tite Kubo's Bleach. While I'm not sure how long it will be at the moment, I plan on making it many chapters. So without further ado, please enjoy my story

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**1: Prologue- Then and Now**

Flames danced around in the air of Fake Karakura Town, surrounding Captain-General Yamamoto and Traitorous Shinigami Sosuke Aizen in a circular ring. "Now it can really just be a fight between us," Yamamoto said to the Ex-5th Division Captain.

"You shinigami really are amusing," Aizen smirked. "And while I would like to fight spend my time fighting you; I'm afraid I must be quick about it. To make sure you want to dispose of me quickly as well, I might as well show you something interesting…" Aizen reached into his outfit and pulled out a small spherical object.

"Is that…?" Yamamoto said opening his eyes slightly.

"So you recognize it," replied the calm Aizen. "Yes, this is the Hogyoku. Defeat me here and now, and it is yours. That should make you want to fight, eh?"

Yamamoto grimaced as he raised zanpakuto in preparation to fight. "I didn't need anything to make me motivated to destroy you here and now, now get ready to fight!"

Aizen aimed his sword at the ground and held it out. "Don't worry, I know who I'm up against and plan on fighting accordingly. Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu!"

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Tercera Espada Tia Harribel quickly dodged another of Vizard Lisa and Hiyori's strike. The battle had dragged on for a long time since the Vizards had entered the fray. Harribel's breath was getting ragged as she blocked, parried, ripped, slashed, and garroted. Without warning, Lisa put on her Hollow Mask and appeared behind her at superhuman speed. Harribel was quick to react and aimed her sword at her.

"Cero!"

The wide cero missed Lisa as she jumped to avoid it. Before the Tercera knew it, Hiyori was on her yet again. She tried desperately to block her sword with her arm, but her hierro was getting weak from expending so much energy. She grunted as she was forced to dodge Lisa's attack again.

Captain Hitsugaya was busy focusing his energy while the two Vizards kept Harribel busy. He suddenly snapped open his eyes and knew it was time. With a sly nod to both of his companions, they both jumped away from the confused arrancars. Harribel soon understood why they left as several ice pillars surrounded her. She immediately knew this was Hitsugaya's doing as she stared right at him.

"Remember what I said," Hitsugaya smiled. "One faces the most danger during one's best attack. One of the rules of battle. Time to end this. Sennen Hyoro!"

"Damn…" was all Harribel could mutter in defeat.

All of the pillars closed around her and trapped her in a casing of ice. "Nice battle arrancar, but it's finally finished."

"All thanks to us Baldy!" Hiyori angrily retorted. "Otherwise you wouldn't have stood a chance!"

"Yeah, yeah," Hitsugaya quietly said, knowing there was truth to that statement.

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Vizards Rose and Love fought raggedly against the Primera Espada Stark. He himself had also sustained some damage, but he knew he was winning against the two former captains. He aimed both pistols at them and fired. Both Vizards barely had time to dodge as they both appeared behind Stark. He sighed as he sensed them both and was prepared to strike.

He aimed his pistols at both of them again and was about to pull the trigger. Love, however, put on his Hollow Mask and tacked Stark, stopping his attack. Stark grunted as he struggled against the ferociously strong Love. Rose took this opportunity to put on his mask and levitated his sword and scabbard in the shape of a cross.

"Perfect," he said. "Now, Espada, let's see you come captive to my melody!"

Sound waves emitted from the sword and assaulted both Stark and Love. Stark was unprepared and lost his balance in the middle of the fight. Love, however, who had seen this power before, didn't appear affected as he took this chance to use his monster strength to smash Stark's head, sending him flying into the buildings below.

When it was clear Stark wasn't getting up, both Vizards took off their masks and sighed. Not soon after that, they felt their fatigue and collapsed themselves.

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In Hueco Mundo, the exhausted group looked up at the gargantuan Espada Yammy. Even with Ichigo, Uryu, and Orihime's arrival, it barely made a difference against the strength of the arrancars.

"Is that really all? You were the one that beat Ulquiorra? What a pathetic joke; die!"

Yammy's giant fist went crashing down, scattering the group. "Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!"

A large ice wave hit Yammy's leg, freezing it. The Espada merely laughed at this as the ice shattered just as quickly as it formed. "I told you that won't work!" he yelled, firing a large cero from his mouth at Rukia.

The cero missed her, but the explosion caused her to fly to the floor in pain. "Rukia!" Orihime yelled as she rushed towards her ailing friend.

"Bastard!" Renji yelled swinging his Bankai at the monster.

Yammy simply deflected it and laughed. He stomped the ground with his foot, causing a large tremor and grounding the group. "This is bad…" Uryu said with a grimace. "There's no way to pierce his thick skin."

"Don't worry," Ichigo said while gritting his teeth. "I know the one spot where we can damage him."

Yammy let out a huge yawn. "You shinigami are boring me. I suppose I will end it now."

He charged a cero in his mouth again, aimed at the entire group. "Shit!" Renji said. "That's way bigger than before."

"Of course," Yammy laughed. "This is the Espada's Gran Rey Cero. It will demolish all of you in an instant."

"Damn!" Ichigo yelled while putting on his Hollow Mask and jumping towards Yammy. "No time!"

"Kurosaki!" Uryu yelled. "Wait!"

Ichigo jumped as high as Yammy's face and was charging a Getsuga Tensho on his blade. "I'm the one who killed Ulquiorra, not them. Aim for me instead!"

"True," Yammy smiled.

He fired the Gran Rey Cero at Ichigo from point blank range. The blast was so massive it tore through the sky above the battle. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the largest Espada laughed. "SO MUCH FOR THAT!"

His laughter quickly died as he saw Ichigo was still there and very conscious, with his Getsuga Tensho still on his blade. "Impossible…" Yammy said.

"TAKE THIS!" Ichigo yelled behind his mask.

He kept the Getsuga Tensho on his blade and stabbed it right in Yammy's right eye, driving the blade deep into his head. Yammy screamed as the force sent him falling back. Before he fell, he charged one last Cero and fired it at the defenseless Ichigo, sending him flying back to the ground.

When Yammy hit the ground, he felt himself starting to fade. "D-Damn it…" He then disappeared into nothing.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime screamed as Ichigo hit the ground with a large thud.

Everyone ran over to him and saw that he was mortally wounded. "Damn, we're losing him!" Renji said as he felt his spiritual pressure fading.

Ichigo weakly smiled at the group as he said, "It's alright. This isn't that bad. Besides, I'll just go to Soul Society anyway." He turned to Chad and Uryu and said, "Don't ever let Inoue out of your sights again."

Both men nodded as they understood. "Kurosaki-kun, let me try to heal you," Orihime desperately said, but was stopped by Rukia.

"Even you should be able to tell that your powers can't save him," she said. "He's lucky he wasn't vaporized after the first blast. Besides, he's happily accepted it."

Orihime started crying openly at this news. "It's alright Inoue," Ichigo said, trying to calm her. "I'm just glad that you're safe." He then gave his final words to all of his friends. "See you on the other side…"

With that, Ichigo died, leaving a mix of sorrow and happiness behind.

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Yamamoto deftly dodged a blow from Aizen. Even with Kyoka Suigetsu, Yamamoto could see through his rouges and was able to counter them effectively. The battle had been dragging on for some time, and no one could tell what was going on outside of the flame ring. Yamamoto quickly charged at Aizen, while something suddenly made Aizen hesitate. Yamamoto took this chance and stabbed him right through his heart.

Aizen's face was stamped with surprise as he stared straight at Yamamoto, uttering the words, "A god…I was supposed to be a god…"

"You won't be becoming a god anymore," Yamamoto replied. "You will simply become ash!"

Aizen suddenly erupted in flames and was incinerated into nothing, destroying the Hogyoku along with it. When the battle was done, the flames disappeared and Yamamoto breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. He no longer saw any fighting as all of their enemies were defeated.

"Captain Yamamoto," Hitsugaya said. "Is Aizen…?"

"Dead," the Captain-General answered.

Those words rang for several seconds before all the shinigami gave a cheer. "It's finally over!"

"It's too early to celebrate," Yamamoto said. "We have some things to clear up."

The Captain-General went down to the street where Ukitake and Kyoraku were wounded. Captain Kyoraku looked at him with a smile. "Finally took care of it, eh?"

"How are you and Jushiro?" he asked.

"I'm fine, but looks like Jushiro is gonna need some medical attention," Kyoraku said.

"That's fine, I'll get Kira to come and—" Yamamoto suddenly stopped as he heard a groan in a nearby destroyed building.

He and Kyoraku quickly used shunpo to see Stark and Lilynette in the destroyed building, both in pain. "Still alive?" Yamamoto said to himself. "Sorry, but you two must disappear."

Shunsui Kyoraku stopped Yamamoto before he could strike the two. "Hold on a sec Ol' Yama. I don't think we should kill them just yet."

"Are you kidding? They should be destroyed immediately!"

"Now calm down," Shunsui replied. "If I may make a suggestion…"

Both Yamamoto and Kyoraku appeared before the all the shinigami. Yamamoto quickly looked at Kira and ordered, "Captain Ukitake's wounded down there, I need you to go heal him quick."

Kira nodded as he took off. Yamamoto looked at the ice prison Hitsugaya had trapped Tia Harribel in. With a wave of his sword, he melted it away, revealing a very weak Harribel, with all of her power sealed back into her sword. She stared at all the shinigami and knew she couldn't do anything.

"Take this one and the other two arrancars down there into custody, but do not kill them," Yamamoto ordered. "We shall deal with them later. For now, let us return to Soul Society to treat our wounded and prepare a large celebration for our victory against Aizen."

All the shinigami happily nodded as Yamamoto turned to Hirako Shinji, the leader of the Vizards. "We couldn't have done it without your help, and I'd like to welcome you back to Soul Society."

"Are you kidding? Of course not!" Shinji quickly replied. "Don't forget Yamamoto, you're shinigami and we're Vizards. We will never be able to get along. If you want to do us a favor, just forget about us all together and let us live in peace."

Yamamoto nodded. "Very well, but you still have our thanks."

"Yeah, yeah," Shinji said while walking away. He turned to Hachi and said, "Get our wounded comrades back to our base so we can heal them."

Hachi nodded as all the wounded Vizards were enveloped in strange Kido structures and disappeared. Shinji took one look back at all of the shinigami and gave his parting words.

"Later!"

With that, all the Vizards were gone, never to be seen again.

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Despite Yamamoto's promise of a party, there was a lot they had to do before they could celebrate. He himself was buried in paperwork dealing with the entire arrancars fiasco. He took a sip of tea as his lieutenant Chojiro entered the room.

"There's someone here who would like to speak with you," he said politely.

Yamamoto nodded as Chojiro stepped aside, revealing Ichigo Kurosaki. No surprise showed on the Captain-General's face.

"Now that I'm really a spirit," Ichigo said, "how do I become a shinigami?"

Yamamoto set down his tea cup and replied, "It's not that hard, it'll basically be the same as before for you, but instead of going through the Academy, I have another suggestion…"

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Stark's snoring filled the room of the Maggot's Nest. Lilynette angrily stepped on his stomach causing him to abruptly wake up. "What do you want?" he sleepily asked.

"How the hell can you be sleeping when you know they're gonna execute us!" she angrily asked.

"It's not like there's anything we can do about it," Stark lazily replied. "We were beaten fair and square and now get our punishment. Right, Harribel?"

The Tercera didn't even open her eyes at the Primera's comment. She continued to sit against the wall and be deep in her own thoughts. "If there's nothing else," Stark said to his counterpart, "I'm going back to sleep."

"Argh! You're so frustrating!" Lilynette yelled jumping on his chest. "You're not going to go to sleep anymore!"

The violence was stopped when the door to their cell opened, revealing 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyoraku. "What do you want?" Stark asked with slight annoyance.

"Is that any way to talk to the man who saved your lives?" Kyoraku lightheartedly asked. When he saw no one responding, he continued. "Anyway, I'm here because I've been talking with Ol' Man Yama about what to do with you and he's finally taken my suggestion into consideration."

"Suggestion?"

"That's right," Kyoraku replied. "But before I tell you, I must ask you what your loyalty levels with Aizen were when you were in the Espada."

"To be honest, I didn't think much of him," Stark truthfully replied. "He simply provided me with shelter so I could sleep easier."

Shunsui chuckled at this. "Good, then I'm sure you'd take my suggestion seriously then…"

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Several days later, Ichigo, Stark, Harribel, and Lilynette were surrounded by captains on both sides. Yamamoto addressed all five of them from his chair. "Due to the defection of Aizen, Tosen, and Gin, we have had three Captain positions open. After much deliberation, we have found the right candidates to fill two of the three missing Captain's positions. Becoming the new 5th Division Captain, we have Ichigo Kurosaki, now a true shinigami. Now for the 9th Division, this may be controversial, but after much deliberation, we have decided to promote Stark to the position of captain, with Harribel as his Lieutenant, and Lilynette as his Third Seat."

The news of the arrancars being promoted came with mixed reviews from the captains. Most were very cautious, but a few were very accepting of this. "I'm sure you will find over time, that these new captains will be very dependable assets to the Gotei 13," Yamamoto finished. "Now, you are all dismissed."

And with that, peace returned to Soul Society. None of them had any idea that in ten years time, the wheels of fate would start turning again.

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Next chapter will take place ten years in the future. It may be a little slow, but I promise that it gets more interesting in the Third Chapter.

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. Promotion

Chapter two of my story. Much longer than the Prologue. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story.

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**2: Promotion**

The sun shone down on Soul Society and everyone seemed at peace. Shinigami happily chatted and patrolled, making sure the city was safe and everyone seemed at ease. For the captains, however, there was no peaceful relaxing, for they had to be getting ready for the promotion ceremony.

Almost every captain was prepared when Captain-General Yamamoto called them. The room was filling up with captains and lieutenants alike. The first to arrive was Byakuya Kuchiki with his lieutenant Renji Abarai, shortly followed by Jushiro Ukitake and his lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi, who had been promoted to the 13th Division.

One by one the captains and lieutenants filled the room. Almost everyone was there, until Captain of the 5th Division Ichigo Kurosaki entered with his lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki. Captain Ukitake saw him and walked over to him.

"Kurosaki-kun, how are you doing?" the white-haired captain asked.

"Same as usual I suppose," Ichigo said scratching the back of his head. "Still haven't completely got the hang of this captain thing yet."

Ukitake couldn't help but laugh at Ichigo's last comment. "How could you not be used to it yet? You were promoted to captain right after Aizen was defeated."

"You use the word 'promoted', but I think of the word 'forced'," Ichigo said with a slightly-joking tone.

"Why do you have to be like that?" Rukia asked kicking him in the legs. "You know full well you could have refused if you wanted to."

Ichigo winced in pain at Rukia's blow, and angrily responded, "Shut up! Shouldn't you be more grateful to me since it was my suggestion to make you my lieutenant?"

"The only reason they took your request seriously was because Hinamori was transferred as the lieutenant of the 3rd Division," Rukia said with anger in her voice.

"I hear Hinamori-kun is doing quite well in her new division," Ukitake said with a smile.

"That's good to know," Rukia said to her former captain.

All the captains were there, with the exception of two. Everyone was starting to get impatient. "Who the hell's keeping us?" Ichigo asked.

"Who else?" replied Rukia with a sigh, "it's always those two."

"I swear those two's laziness is a disgrace to the Gotei 13," Soi Fon said impatiently.

"Who's a disgrace?" a voice asked entering the room.

It belonged to 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyoraku. He and his lieutenant Nanao Ise walked into the room alongside 9th Division Captain and former Espada Stark, his lieutenant Tia Harribel, and his third seat Lilynette. All three arrancars shed their former white clothing for traditional shinigami apparel. Stark had his captain's haori loosely draped over his shoulder. Harribel had her shinigami outfit modified so that it extended to cover her mouth, while Lilynette just wore a standard uniform.

"About time you waltzed in," Ukitake said with a smile.

"It's called being fashionably late, something me and Stark are best at, right?" he said looking towards the former Primera.

Stark sighed and replied, "Don't look at me, I just overslept."

"Enough," Hitsugaya said to the four talking captains. "Hurry and line up; we're starting."

The four captains quickly got in line and the Captain-General began speaking. "We are here today to promote a new captain." He turned to the double doors and continued, "You may enter now, newly promoted 3rd Division Captain Izuru Kira."

The doors swung open to reveal former 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira, wearing his new captain's haori with his typical gloomy look on his face. He managed a smile on his face and finally managed to say, "Hi, everyone…how's it goin'?"

Kira walked further into the middle of the room. It was then that Yamamoto began his usual speech for the promotion.

"It was six days ago that I let the captains know of the need for a new captain. Two days later I received a recommendation from Lieutenants Renji Abarai and Shuhei Hisagi that fellow Lieutenant Izuru Kira is suitable for this new position. I then summoned Kira, and with the help of three other captains, we tested his qualities with the captain's test and found that his abilities and personality were acceptable. Therefore, the former Lieutenant of the 3rd Division Izuru Kira, who is standing before us today, is the newly appointed Captain of the 3rd Division." He turned to Kira. "Have you anything to say?"

Kira looked at the crowd with his typical gloomy look and scratched the back of his head, remained silent for a while then finally saying, "Thanks, I guess…"

"This guy doesn't seem too motivated to be a captain," Lilynette said to Stark. "Not unlike you…"

"Be quiet Lilynette," Stark said, not even bothering to look at her.

"If that is all you have to say," Yamamoto said, "Then this meeting is adjourned."

The Captains and Lieutenants began to leave, while some went to congratulate the new captain. Ichigo stretched and yawned, saying, "About time that position was filled. It's been near three years since the last 3rd Division Captain met his untimely demise." He turned to Harribel and asked, "Why didn't you try and become captain? With your skills you could have easily done it?"

"We arrancar like to stick together," Harribel said. "I wouldn't feel comfortable becoming a captain anyway, seeing what Stark has to do."

"Is that so?" Ichigo said. He then turned to Rukia and said, "Come on, let's go, you've got a lot of paperwork to catch up on."

"Don't you mean you do?" Rukia asked, slightly annoyed. "It's the Captain's job after all."

"Nonsense," Ichigo said with a smile poking Rukia's forehead. "It's the Lieutenant's job to help out the Captain whenever necessary right?"

Kyoraku heard their arguing and sighed, saying to Stark, "Those two always argue like that. Oh well, wanna go get a drink to celebrate?"

"Isn't it normal to invite the person who got promoted when you celebrate a promotion?" Stark asked inquisitively.

"That Kira character is too much of a downer to share a drink with us," Kyoraku said with a smile on his face.

"Whatever you say…" Stark said yawning.

"I wanna go too!" Lilynette intervened.

"Don't be ridiculous," Stark said with indifference. He then turned to Harribel and said, "Make sure Lilynette gets back to the Division Barracks."

"Of course," the former Tercera Espada said putting her hands on Lilynette's shoulders, leading her out of the room.

Lilynette was yelling at her Captain while being led out saying, "You stupid long-haired lazy freak! You will let me go this time! You hear me?"

Stark scratched the back of his head and said, "God she's annoying." He then turned to Kyoraku and said, "Now, about that drink…"

"Of course," Kyoraku said leading Stark out of the building and onto the streets. "Let's go to our usual place."

"Yeah, yeah…" Stark said walking down the street with fellow captain, conversing in simple things, as they always do. Stark himself was too distracted by the conversation to notice the air behind them was starting to split, with two figures behind it.

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Apologies if it seemed a little slow, but this was just to get you introduced to all the characters and such. Next chapter will be much more interesting, I promise! Please Review!!!


	3. Unwelcome Visitors

Chapter three of my story. Now it starts to get interesting with the visit of two unwelcome guests.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters.

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**3: Unwelcome Visitors**

Kyoraku's favorite bar was crowded as usual. As soon he and Stark walked in, the entire bar went quiet. "Now, now," Kyoraku said with his carefree voice, "no need to stop on our account. Get back to your conversations."

People started talking again as Kyoraku and Stark sat down by the nearest table. The waiter brought them both sake, which they sipped and continued talking.

"I never thought this would happen," Kyoraku said to Stark. "Me drinking sake with an arrancars such as yourself, and an arrancars I fought nonetheless."

"True," Stark said taking a sip of his sake. "But I only reluctantly followed Aizen's orders and held no real loyalty to him like Ulquiorra had, so once he kicked the bucket I wasn't too reluctant to join you guys."

"Although some were wary at first," Kyoraku added, "me included. But I must say you and Harribel have really changed some people's expectations about you arrancar. I'm pretty sure every shinigami thought an arrancar was bad, you two have proven yourself several times over, working well with many shinigami and aiding us on important missions."

"Well that's the captains job isn't it?" asked Stark pouring himself more sake.

"Indeed it is," Kyoraku said with a smile. He held up his glass and said, "To long lives and friendship."

Stark's glass clinked with Kyoraku's glass.

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It was late at night when Stark and Kyoraku left the bar. Kyoraku appearing a little intoxicated due to the excessive amount of alcohol he drank, while Stark drank his with moderation. They said goodbye to each other and went off in their opposite directions.

Stark let out a large yawn and stared at the full moon. He only had time to take one nap today, and he was regretting it. "Can't wait until I get in my bed and am able to get a good nights sleep," he said to himself.

He adjusted his captain's haori and thought about his past as the Primera Espada. He thought about when Aizen died and he had nowhere else to go. It was then that Kyoraku suggested he join the Gotei 13. Stark was happy to accept that offer, wanting nothing more to do with the Aspect of Loneliness anymore.

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At the same time, a garganta appeared a block away from Stark. Two arrancar figures emerged from them, one male and the other female. The female one said with anger, "Well that took forever!"

"We're not quite used to using the garganta yet," the male one said. "We're lucky we made it in this time."

The female responded angrily saying, "It's your fault this happened."

"Can you shut up and remember the mission?" the male asked. "Now then, our job is to seek the two arrancar here."

They both closed their eyes to sense where they were. Both sets of eyes opened at the same time.

"Got them," both of them said.

"I'll get the one farther away," the female suggested.

"Fine with me," the male said.

They both used sonido to find their respective targets. Stark was too late when he sensed the arrancar coming his way. The male appeared in front of him at the blink of an eye. Stark put his hand on his sword, but the male put up his arms saying in a deep voice, "Come now, let's not resort to violence so soon. We only just met."

"Who the hell are you?" asked Stark, cursing himself inwardly for not noticing them before.

The male arrancar did a deep bow, saying, "My name is Stren Regen, an arrancar."

Stark took a look at Stren. He was very large, at least six feet, and had the muscle to go along with his size. The remains of his hollow mask covered the complete left half of his face, while the mask itself was in the shape of a skull, but the mask's nose extended past his face a bit, making it look like an animal's snout. Stren himself had a shaved head, eyes sunken deep in his head, and a large nose. He wore what looked to be a standard arrancar uniform, with a tightly tied black belt holding his zanpakuto and a zipped up arrancar jacket going all the way to his neck.

"And what business would an arrancar have with me?" Stark asked in a calm manner, hoping Stren didn't know of his previous status as an arrancar.

"Wouldn't a better question be what are you doing here, former Primera Espada Stark?"

Damn, he knew. Stark didn't let his surprise show and simply said, "I'm afraid that still doesn't answer my question. What business have you with me?"

Before Stark knew it, Stren used sonido and appeared behind him. In the blink of an eye Stark drew his sword and pointed it at the arrancars head. Stren didn't show any surprise at his action. Instead, he simply said, "Well, to put it simply, I'm here to recruit you."

"What was that?" Stark asked, starting to let his surprise show.

"Was there something awry with what I said?" the arrancar said in a slightly mocking tone. "You're an arrancar, I'm an arrancar, it's only natural we should work together with an organization."

"Yeah right!" Stark said. "There hasn't been an arrancar organization since Sosuke Aizen."

"It's true there hasn't been any real arrancar organization since that of the great Espadas, but I'm here now telling you that there is."

"And why do you think I would join such an organization?"

"Truth is I don't…" Stren said with brutal honesty. "I am simply following orders. If it were up to me, I'd have killed you on the spot. But our boss has some faith in you, even though you've given in to the enemy and joined their ranks. So I'll ask you one last time, are you interested in joining such an organization?"

Stark didn't give a reply. He simply lunged at Stren with his sword. Before he could connect Stren sonidoed to the top of the closest building. He looked down at the 9th Division Captain with pity saying, "Tsk, tsk, and I always thought you were the calmest of the former Espada. What have these shinigami done to you?"

Stark knew he had to be careful. He didn't have Lilynette and couldn't perform his resurrección if needed. Stren saw the concern in his eyes and said, "Don't worry. I have no plans to fight you here. Ours bosses words were that if I couldn't recruit you, I was to retreat for now. Can't risk being seen so early, although I'm sure you'll raise the alarm as soon as I leave, not that it'll get anything accomplished. I just hope the other arrancar responds favorably to our request."

"Bastard!" Stark said immediately realizing what that meant. "What are you doing to Harribel?!"

Stren let out a smirk and said, "Who knows?"

Stark immediately took off to go find Harribel, hoping something bad hasn't happened to his lieutenant. Stren stood there for a minute saying to himself, "My, my, what a strange personality on that one."

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Harribel had always enjoyed taking strolls at night through Soul Society. Once she successfully subdued the angry Lilynette, she decided to go and take a stroll through the streets. She never would have guessed her evening walk would end like this.

Harribel's sword clashed with another before she jumped back yet again. This had been going on for a while now and it was clear they were evenly matched. Harribel was breathing heavily while her opponent let out a delightful laugh.

The female arrancar finished laughing and pointed her kunai-shaped zanpakuto at her opponent saying, "There's no use trying to fight me, the great arrancar Yuka Feron. I don't see why we should even try to recruit someone as weak as you."

Harribel stared at her opponent in anger. Who the hell was she? Harribel looked upon her enemy again. She was a rather short arrancar, being somewhere around five-five. She had long wavy blonde hair parted down the middle and stopping halfway down her back. The remains of her hollow mask was a that of a skull covering the right half of her forehead and extending down the right half of her face, stopping at her eye, but then extending past her nose to cover the right side of her mouth. She wore a white hakama and arrancar jacket that was open, and using her black arrancar belt as a makeshift bra to cover up her breasts, but revealing the rest of her chest. Her hollow hole was right in the middle of her chest, just above her naval.

Yuka yawned and said, "Come on, all you have to do is say yes for the fighting to stop…"

"Don't make me laugh," Harribel said. Before Yuka knew it, Harribel was behind her. Yuka barely had enough time to dodge as Harribel swung her sword down at her.

"Damn you!" Yuka said with anger on her face.

Harribel pointed her sword at Yuka and replied, "Go tell your boss I'm not interested in your proposal. I'm a shinigami now."

Yuka still looked angrily at Harribel before pointing her zanpakuto straight at her and saying, "Don't worry, you can tell the boss that himself when I drag you back!"

"Are you planning on releasing your sword?" Harribel asked in a rather serious tone.

"If it's the only way to shut you up," Yuka said with a smile.

Harribel realized her only option as she outstretched her arm and pointed her sword downward, preparing her sword release as well.

"Become the Shadows—" Yuka started.

"Attack—" Harribel said.

Before either of them could finish, both arrancars were on them. Stark grabbed Harribel's arm and Stren appeared behind Yuka and grabbed her entire body, lifting her off the ground.

"What the hell are you doing fatso?!" Yuka asked struggling to get away from his grip.

"I should be asking you that, you psychopath," Stren said still holding on to her. "You know our orders weren't to fight."

"I don't care about orders! I'm gonna kill that bitch!" Yuka replied. "Now let go of me!"

While both of the arrancar were arguing, Stark simply asked Harribel, "What were you thinking, about to release inside the city."

"She was about to release and I thought it was the only way to fight her," Harribel replied.

"You should have called for back-up then," Stark said with an angry tone. "You know we're not allowed to release our zanpakutos inside the city, just like how it was in Los Noches."

When Harribel didn't respond, Stark simply sighed and continued, "It's all right. I understand the circumstances. Now let's just focus on getting rid of these two."

Stren overheard the last sentence and replied, "Sorry, but we have no intention of fighting you right now."

"Speak for yourself fatty!" Yuka said while still struggling to get out of his grip.

Stren smacked Yuka on the top of her head in hopes to silence her, but only got her to protest more. "What the hell was that for?! I can't wait to go back and tell our boss what you did to me you fat ass!"

Stren remained his calm composure and replied, "That's fine. We're going back now anyway."

As he spoke a large garganta appeared behind them. "I'm sorry, but we must depart for now, thought our boss won't be too happy when we bring him bad news. I hope we meet each other again some day."

With those last words, they both disappeared behind the garganta and left Soul Society all together. As soon as they left, Stark fell on his knees saying, "Those two were about as strong as we were. I hate to admit it, but I think we're gonna have major problems with them in the future."

Harribel helped her captain to his feet and said, "Come on, we'd better go report this to the Captain-General right away!"

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Hopefully it's getting more exciting. It will only get more interesting in the chapters to come. Please review and let me know what you think!


	4. Questions and Answers

Next chapter of my story. Captains have an emergency meeting to find out what's going on. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters.

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**4: Questions and Answers**

Ichigo Kurosaki woke up not being in the best of moods. He had a late night filling out paperwork without much help from his lieutenant. He got up half-heartedly at the sound of his alarm clock and went to go wash his face.

"_Captains duties are so difficult,_" Ichigo thought to himself. "_I'd much rather be in the human world with all of my friends then having to get up early every morning for boring activities and barely any fighting._"

He quickly got dressed, put on his captain's haori, and strapped Zangetsu to his back. He was barely two inches out of the building when he was forced to dodge a sword strike coming at him.

Ichigo sighed as he saw 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki holding the sword that tried to take his life. He smiled at Ichigo and said, "A few weeks ago that strike would have split you in two. You must be getting better."

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched a bit at this comment and said in a loud voice, "Don't you ever get sick of this Kenpachi? God damn! Every day as soon as I get out of my room you try and kill me in some way. I can't stand it!"

"Now don't say that," Kenpachi said. "You'll hurt my feelings if you keep saying stuff like that."

"Since when did you ever care about feelings?" asked Ichigo with an unimpressed voice.

Kenpachi thought for a minute before replying, "I guess you're right. Oh well, grab your sword Ichigo! For making me think about stuff like that I'm actually gonna kill you!"

Ichigo barely dodged the next strike before saying, "Time out you friggin' psychopath!"

Kenpachi kept his maniacal before lunging at Ichigo in the air. "There ain't no time outs in battle you idiot!"

Before another strike could be made, a hell butterfly flew in-between them saying, "5th and 11th Division Captains Ichigo Kurosaki and Kenpachi Zaraki, we have an emergency captain's meeting going on in the 1st Division building. Please call your lieutenants and get there as fast as possible." It then flew off.

"Damn," Kenpachi said. "Looks like we'll have to put our fight on hold for now."

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief at this message. He ran away from Kenpachi as fast as possible saying, "Sorry, but I gotta go get Rukia now."

Kenpachi sighed saying, "It almost seems like he doesn't want to fight me…"

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Ichigo was one of the last ones to arrive to the captain's meeting. He noticed everyone had a solemn look on their face, even Stark, who normally always showed up late was looking at the ground with a look of doom on his face.

Shunsui Kyoraku was the last one to arrive (of course), walking in and complaining to Nanao. "A captain's meeting the day after a promotion ceremony? Has Ol' Yama lost all of his sense? I can't handle waking up so early after drinking so much last night."

Nanao hit him on the back of his head with her book and said, "That was your fault for drinking so much!"

Kyoraku rubbed the back of his head where he was hit feigning pain and saying, "Nanao-chan, so cruel. What did I do to deserve such a thing?"

"Just be quiet," Nanao said. "The Captain-General's about to speak."

"Now that we're all here, we can begin this emergency captain's meeting," Yamamoto said with a resolve-laden voice.

"This better be important Ol' Yama," all the captains heard a voice say, all knowing who it belonged to. "I didn't get up this early for nothin'!"

Shortly after hearing that the captain's heard a whack with a heavy object followed by, "Oww, Nanao-chan, why are you so violent today?"

The sound of another whack silenced the voice for good this time. "Anyways…" Yamamoto said trying to continue, "I fear we may have a major situation on our hands."

"What's going on?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I will allow 9th Division Captain Stark to fill you in on the details of last night," Yamamoto said looking at the former Espada.

"Last night," Stark started, "at around eleven o'clock at night, Soul Society was invaded by two arrancars."

These words hit the rest of the captains like a ton of bricks. "How's that possible?" asked Captain Ukitake. "We should have been able to sense them if they entered."

"Unfortunately, they're very good at suppressing their spiritual energy. Being arrancars we know it's very hard to do. It's clear that both of them were skilled fighters," Stark answered.

"Wish I was there," Kenpachi said remembering his fight with Nnoitra, "sure would have been fun to fight another arrancar again.

"What did they want?" asked 12th Division Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

"Their motives were to try and recruit me and Harribel to join their ranks of arrancars."

"An organization of arrancars," said Hitsugaya. "This could be a very big problem. You think they're trying to create another group of Espadas?"

"That is what we believe at this time," Yamamoto replied.

"How could this happen?" Soi Fon said trying to hide the surprise in her voice. "We destroyed the Hogyoku when we killed Aizen."

"Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case," Yamamoto said. "While we have no definitive proof, we believe that Aizen may have hid the Hogyoku in case he were to die for future arrancars to use it, using the hypnotic powers of Kyoka Suigetsu to make us believe he had it on him when he died."

"But we searched Las Noches after we killed Aizen and found no trace of the Hogyoku anywhere," Kira said.

"Then that means our arrancar friends are hiding somewhere else in Hueco Mundo," Stark said.

"We've been trying to run a trace on the spiritual energy they left behind," Mayuri said, "but unfortunately could not find where it originated from, meaning we have no idea where their base is."

"Perhaps we shouldn't be as concerned with where they're hiding, as opposed to who their leader is," Kyoraku said with a serious voice this time.

"Indeed," Yamamoto said. "The mention of their leader is what concerns us the most right now. With all the previous Espada gone with the exception of Stark and Harribel, it couldn't have been one of them with thoughts of revenge."

That's when Ichigo suddenly remembered everything. "I think I might know who it is, and he is indeed one of the former Espada."

"Who would it be then?" Yamamoto asked.

"I think it's…"

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Stren and Yuka arrived to their hideout to be greeted by other arrancar members. "Well how'd it go?" one asked.

"I would've killed them if fatso here didn't stop me," Yuka said in an annoyed voice.

"Once again," Stren said with a sigh, "we weren't supposed to fight anyone."

"I'll take it that it didn't go well," one arrancar said.

"Good luck telling that to the boss," another said with a hint of happiness in their voice.

Stren and Yuka were brought into their leader's room and kneeled down. Next to their leader was an advisor, who whispered something in his ear. The leader looked at the two and simply said, "Tell me everything…"

Stren bowed his head and replied, "Of course…Grimmjow Jeagerjaques-sama."

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An unprecedinted turn of events occurs. Unexpected? Probably not, but please review and let me know what you think anyway.


	5. Under the Blue Gaze

Stren and Yuka give their reports to Grimmjow and talk with their fellow arrancars. Meanwhile, Ichigo knows who to ask for information. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters.

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**5: Under the Blue Gaze**

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques sat in his chair and watched the arrancars with cold eyes. After a long moment of silence, Grimmjow said, "Well, I'm waiting."

Stren snapped back to reality and looked at his leader. He was truly a terrifying sight. Wearing a white hakama and an open arrancar jacket with the collar upturned and the sleeves rolled up. He had numerous scars across his chest, the most prominent one going from the top of his left shoulder all the way down to the lower-right part of his chest and had his hollow hole located on his stomach. The only difference in Grimmjow's appearance was that he no longer had spiky hair, but instead grew it out to shoulder length. He wore a black bandana that kept most of his hair off of his forehead, but some strands fall towards his head. He also had grown a little stubble on his face, not caring to get rid of it.

"O-Of course sir," Stren said. "We appeared to Soul Society, just as you had commanded. We quickly found the two arrancar, me engaging Stark, and Yuka engaging Harribel, and told them your proposition, but unfortunately they refused our offer and tried to engage us in a fight. I refused and went towards Yuka, who had already engaged the enemy—"

"Because she started it…" Yuka said cutting Stren off.

Grimmjow gave Yuka a death glare. She faltered under his eyes and looked away, simply saying, "Apologies master."

Grimmjow looked at Stren and nodded, saying, "Continue please."

"Anyway, Yuka was about to use her Resurrección to fight Harribel, who was also going to release her sword, but me and Stark stopped then just in time. Once subdued, we were able to retreat back here."

"And that is all?" Grimmjow asked.

"Yes it is…" Stren said, losing his composure.

Both arrancars saw Grimmjow's advisor tell him something in his ear. After several seconds, Grimmjow looked at Yuka and asked, "You remembered the orders I gave you, did you not?"

"O-Of course I did sir," Yuka said in a flustered voice.

"So you should remember my distinct orders not to fight the enemies, am I correct?"

"You are correct, sir."

"Then why were you about to use your release mode on her?!" asked Grimmjow in an angry voice.

The intensity of his voice shook the room as both arrancar took two steps back. "I felt it was the only way to get her to comply with our demands and—"

"What a pathetic excuse," Grimmjow said. "If we didn't have that many arrancar, I'd kill you on the spot. You're very lucky; now both of you get out of my sight!"

Grimmjow didn't need to tell them twice, as both arrancar quickly walked out of their leader's room. Once they left, they heard a familiar voice chide them.

"Did it go well?"

Both of them turned around to see that it belonged to one of their fellow arrancar. "Oh shut up Vannan," Yuka said in an irritated voice.

The arrancar named Vannan appeared right in front of them, with a smile on his face saying, "Oh don't be like that, and how many times must I tell you to call me Van? I just heard some voices and was wondering if my two friends were okay. I heard some yelling by our boss and it made me wonder."

"We're not your friends," Stren said back in his usual composed voice.

"And who the hell would call you Van?!" Yuka asked pointing at him in an angry fashion.

Vannan was an average height arrancar, being around five-nine to five-ten. He had unkempt brown hair that covered most of his forehead. He always has a smile on his face and a cheery attitude at all times. He had a regular arrancar hakama, but wore his arrancar jacket untucked under his belt with the top slightly unzipped to reveal his neck. He wore his zanpakuto at his side, held in by his belt. The remains of his hollow mask and hollow hole could not be seen.

Vannan feigned sadness by replying, "Why must your hurt me so, Yuka-kun? I'm nothing but nice to you and all you don't even call me by my nickname."

"You're an idiot Vannan," another voice said coming from around the corner. "Everyone can tell that you're only faking being nice."

"I'm hurt you would think such a thing, Tyreon-kun," Vannan said with a hurt voice. "I assure you my niceness is genuine."

Tyreon appeared behind Stren and Yuka. He was as tall as Stren, but very lanky, not showing very much muscle mass. His black hair was swept back, revealing a very noticeable scar horizontally across his forehead. He had a customized arrancar uniform that resembles a white lab coat, going down to his ankles, with a zipper running all the way to the top which covers his neck. The remains of his hollow mask were a horn on top of his nose which extends outward. His zanpakuto was larger than most arrancar, being the shape of a broad sword, buckled onto his back in a slanted fashion.

"And what brings you here Tyreon?" asked Stren

"Can't a man take a stroll?" Tyreon asked. "I was just walking around when I heard you guys and decided to find out what was going on. With our boss being in a grumpy mood recently, it leaves me wondering what's gonna hap—"

"Talking behind someone's back is not an admirable trait you know," a voice said coming from Grimmjow's room.

"Well well, if it isn't Enzai Kuseso, Grimmjow-sama's personal advisor," Vannan said with a smile.

Enzai was around six-one with a regular build. He wore a normal hakama and a custom arrancar jacket with the zipper going down the middle. The jacket itself was noticeably longer, going a foot past where the belt was and had a break where the zipper ended. The top of his jacket was undone, revealing his neck and a small portion of his chest. Strangely enough, his hollow mask covers all of his face in the design of a demon with small horns protruding from the top. Although it covers his face, his brown hair can be seen at the back of his head. His zanpakuto is held tightly by his black sash. His hollow hole could not visibly be seen.

"I don't remember Grimmjow-sama giving you orders to stand outside and talk badly about him," Enzai said in a soft-spoken voice.

"Could he really blame us?" Yuka said in a loud voice. "He yells at me and Stren even though we followed his orders just fine!"

"I wouldn't say you followed them just fine," Stren chimed in, adding to her anger.

"Shut up fat ass!" Yuka said lunging at him to throw a punch, which Stren simply side-stepped, causing her to crash into the wall.

"Either way," Enzai said trying to calm everyone down, "I believe it's time to break up this little meeting. Everyone go back to your own rooms and wait for further orders."

"Don't think you can give us orders just because you're Grimmjow's advisor," Tyreon said with disdain. "You're a normal arrancar just like the rest of us."

"True," Enzai said with a smile behind his mask, "but you'd best listen to me anyway, lest you want Grimmjow-sama to bring his vengeance on all of us."

All the arrancar understood perfectly now and started off to their separate rooms, most grumbling about not liking to be ordered around. Only Vannan stayed behind to give Enzai his last comment. "If I were you I'd be careful what you say to them. Even if you are Grimmjow's advisor that don't mean they won't think twice about stabbing you in the back."

Enzai let out a small laugh and replied, "I could say the same thing about you Vannan. Any sane man would be wary of you and the deception you hide."

With that, Enzai started walking away from Vannan who simply called back, "You know sometimes your comments hurt!" With no response he simple sulked back to his room.

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"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques?" Yamamoto said. "I thought he died with the rest of the Espada."

"I'm afraid not," Ichigo said. "After my battle with him, he was attacked by Nnoitra Jiruga and almost died, but I protected him from Nnoitra's deathblow and I don't know what became of him after that."

"Well he would certainly have a motive," Ukitake said. "If he was the leader, what do you think his next move's going to be?"

"Can't say for certain," Ichigo said, "but if I know Grimmjow, he just wants another chance to battle me again."

"Who could blame him?" Kenpachi asked with a smile. "I'd be thinking the same thing if I was him."

"Of course you would," Mayuri said with a sigh. "All beasts do is think about battle."

"What was that?" Kenpachi asked.

"Yeah, who's picking on Ken-chan?" Kenpachi's lieutenant Yachiru asked looking around the room.

"Enough!" Yamamoto said regaining order. "You're not taking this threat seriously enough. Arrancars have invaded our base and made it clear there are more of them out there. Although saying Grimmjow is their leader might be a bit of a stretch, I believe we should look for more clues first."

"I know who we should start with," Ichigo said raising his hand. "I'll go to them personally with Rukia."

"Very well," Yamamoto said. He turned to Captain Hitsugaya and said, "Hitsugaya shall accompany you on your journey. Leave as soon as possible. We shall wait here and find out what information you gathered. For now, meeting adjourned."

Captain Hitsugaya walked up to Ichigo and said, "I can be ready in an hour. Meet me at the front of Seireitei."

"Sure," Ichigo said, "but I'm afraid we need to make a little stop first."

"Why?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Let's just say it's necessary for our journey," Ichigo replied.

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Mr. Urahara was busy working on a new invention of his when he heard Yoruichi call for him. "Kisuke, you have some visitors."

Urahara got up and yawned asking, "Who is it?"

Before he knew it, Ichigo was right in front of him, followed by Rukia and Hitsugaya. He jumped back and gave a yelp, but quickly realized what he did and whipped out his fan and started fanning himself, putting on a large smile and cheerfully saying, "Mr. Kurosaki, what a sudden appearance. What can I do for you today?"

"Sorry about scaring you like that," Ichigo said, "but—"

"Me? Scared? Nonsense," Mr. Urahara said with an over-excited voice. "Don't you know nothing can scare me?"

"Yeah, whatever," Ichigo said, dismissing the comment. "We need your help in opening a garganta."

"A garganta?" asked Urahara. "Why, of course. I can have it running in an hour, but may I ask why you want to go to Hueco Mundo?"

"To ask around for some information," Ichigo replied.

"And who do you intend to get information from in Hueco Mundo?" Urahara asked.

Ichigo simply smiled and said, "An old friend…"

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Who is it he's going to see? It's probably obvious, but keep reading anyway, and remember reviews=my happiness =D


	6. Information

Ichigo goes to an old friend in hope of information, but is interrupted by a couple visitors. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters.

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**6: Information**

"In my right hand, the stone that connects the worlds. In my left hand, the blade that binds existence. The black-haired shepherd. The chair of the noose. I strike the ibis when the clouds gather."

After saying these words, Urahara slammed his cane down and caused a rift in space between the two poles he made. The garganta opened between the two poles, revealing the swirling energies behind it. "I believe you've seen this before Mr. Kurosaki," Urahara said, referring to when Ichigo first went to Hueco Mundo to save Orihime.

Ichigo stared straight at the garganta and simply nodded. Mr. Urahara tipped his bucket hat saying, "Good luck, and simply tell me when you need to get out again using this device." He threw them his device and continued, "This will keep us in contact even if you are in Hueco Mundo."

"Thanks Mr. Urahara," Ichigo said. He turned to his two teammates and finished, "Let's go."

With that, all three of them jumped into the garganta. Once they were in, the garganta closed, leaving Mr. Urahara and Yoruichi to converse about their journey. "I wonder what could have happened to make them want to go to Hueco Mundo so badly," Yoruichi said.

Mr. Urahara lit up his pipe and replied, "Don't worry about it; I'm sure it's nothing too major."

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Tyreon, Vannan, and Stren were called into Grimmjow's room. Next to him was Enzai, staring at the three arrancars through his mask. "What have you called us here for?" Vannan asked, being the boldest of the three.

"We need all three of you to go to Los Noches to recover a certain item of value for us," Enzai answered.

"Certain item of value?" Tyreon asked.

"Indeed. You three should know where it is based on the information we gave you, and the three of you should be enough to handle anything there."

"What could be there that could match the three of us?" asked Stren.

"Nothing major, I assure," Enzai said, "just look out for one group that currently resides there."

"And who might that be?" Vannan inquired.

"Just someone by the name of…"

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Nelliel Tu Oderschvank was getting restless. She paced back and forth nervously in her room. Nothing had been happening for a few days now. It had been ten years since she transformed back into her true self for good and was left in charge of Los Noches and everything around it. Her, Dondochakka, and Pesche have been dealing with renegade hollows ever since. Recently, however, nothing has happened. No hollow attacks, no rumors of major attacks in the human world, and no signs of any major hollows banding together. She flopped down in her chair and sighed. Although she didn't like to fight, she didn't like to be bored either.

Just then Pesche ran in her room and declared, "Nelliel-sama, you'll never guess what happened!"

"What is it Pesche?" Nelliel asked.

"Well, Gantenbainne was just patrolling around Los Noches when he saw some visitors."

"Who are they?" Nelliel asked with curiosity.

"It's so amazing, you'll never guess. Come on, try and guess who they—"

Nelliel grabbed the jumping Pesche and looked him straight in the eye. "Calm down Pesche. Just tell me who the visitors are."

"It's Ichigo!" Pesche exclaimed.

"Ichigo?!" Nelliel said throwing Pesche aside and bolting out of her room.

Privaron Espada Gantenbainne Mosqueda gave Ichigo, Rukia, and Hitsugaya some tea. "Thank you," Hitsugaya said taking a sip.

Without any warning, Nelliel burst through the door and pounced over the table to hug Ichigo. The force of it cause the couch he was sitting on to fall backwards. "Ichigo!" she yelled as she was hugging him very tightly.

"Nelliel…stop…can't…brea—AGH!" Ichigo said in desperation.

"Nelliel, stop it! You're suffocating Ichigo," Rukia said trying to get her off of him.

"Ichigo, I missed you so much," she said, not paying attention to either one of them.

"_Idiots,_" Hitsugaya thought as he calmly took a sip of tea.

Once everything calmed down and Ichigo was breathing properly, Nelliel said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to try and kill you. I just haven't seen you in forever and I was excited."

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo said with a sigh.

"So why are you here?" asked Nelliel.

"We were hoping you have some information that we need," Rukia explained. "You see, two days ago arrancars invaded Soul Society in an attempt to recruit Stark and Harribel, claiming that there was an organization of arrancars out there. We have reason to believe that Grimmjow Jeagerjaques is their leader, but aren't sure."

"Jeagerjaques, eh?" Nelliel said leaning back in her seat deep in thought. "Come to think of it, I haven't heard from him in over ten years. Last I heard of him, he was dying by wounds you caused him Ichigo. I assumed he simply died or left Las Noches for good."

"So you haven't heard anything," Hitsugaya asked. "Nothing at all from any other hollow?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Actually, it's been pretty slow here to. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened for weeks now. It might have something to do with what's happening to you, but it's impossible to say."

"Damn," Ichigo said. He looked up at Nelliel and said, "Well, thanks for your help, but I'm afraid we must be going now."

"What?" Nelliel said in a surprised voice. "Why would you leave now? You just got here. I thought we were gonna play for a while."

"As much as we'd like to, we have to go back to Soul Society. We need to figure this thing out as soon as possible. Keep us updated if you get any new information." He held the device Urahara gave him and talked into it. "Hey, Mr. Urahara, we're ready to—"

He couldn't get any farther as an explosion nearby caused him to abruptly stop. "You want to leave now Mr. Kurosaki?" Mr. Urahara asked on the other side of the device.

"Never mind," Ichigo said with a grimace on his face.

Following the explosion, Dondochakka, Pesche, and Gantenbainne flew through the wall. Everyone looked to see what happened to them. "Pesche, Dondochakka!" Nelliel yelled as she ran towards her fraccion. "What happened to you?"

Both Pesche and Dondochakka were knocked out with open wounds all over their body. Gantenbainne, who was in his release mode, said to Nelliel, "Be careful. Three enemies, too…strong…" With that he passed out.

After he passed out, Nelliel, Ichigo, Rukia, and Hitsugaya heard three voices coming from the hole. "Ouch, why do you have to be so flashy?"

"Don't blame me, those enemies were tough."

"Maybe for someone like you, but for someone like me…" Vannan, Stren, and Tyreon revealed themselves through the hole. "…it's hard for me to believe they're even arrancars," Vannan finished.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked.

Vannan look at the three shinigami and said, "They weren't supposed to be here. I'd say we got some faulty information…"

"Shinigami and two captains by the looks of it," Stren said.

"This could get a bit rough," Tyreon said in a gruff voice.

"Who the hell are you?!" Ichigo repeated in anger, unsheathing his blade.

"Such anger in your voice," Vannan said with a smile. "Don't you know it's rude to ask someone who they are before introducing yourself?" Vannan sighed and finished, "Oh well…"

Without any warning he unsheathed his zanpakuto and rushed at Ichigo. Ichigo quickly parried the blow. Vannan smiled in Ichigo's face and said with a cheery attitude, "Nice reflexes you got there. As a reward I'll tell you my name." He jumped back from Ichigo and landed a few feet away. He did his deepest bow and continued, "Vannan Skype, just an arrancar, but you can call me Van. Pleased to meet you Mr.…"

"5th Division Captain Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo replied. "And I won't be calling you Van."

"Why does no one want to call me by my nickname?" Vannan asked inwardly. He turned back to Ichigo and continued, "Kurosaki, eh? I hope we can become friends."

"I don't make friends with enemies!" Ichigo said.

"Such a temper," Vannan said, keeping his smile. He turned to Tyreon and Stren saying, "I like this guy. You can take the rest of 'em. Be sure to share amongst yourselves."

"Whatever…" Tyreon said with indifference in his voice. He looked at the remaining shinigami and asked, "Which one of you is a good challenge?"

Nelliel drew her sword and replied, "I think you'll find that I am. I will take revenge for my fallen fraccion."

"Sure," Tyreon said. He pointed to the hole and said, "It could get a bit crowded in here, so let's go to another location."

"Fine by me," Nelliel said with rage in her eyes.

With that, they both disappeared out of the room. Stren looked at Hitsugaya and said, "I guess I'm stuck with you then."

"Stuck with me?" Hitsugaya repeated. "Don't make me laugh. I'm the one who go stuck with you!"

"Whatever you say punk…" Stren said with boredom in his voice. "I also think we should go outside. Makes it easier to fight."

"Lead the way," Hitsugaya said.

When they left, Rukia said to Ichigo, "Let me help you out."

"No," Ichigo simply replied. "I don't need your help. I can handle this guy by myself."

"Is that so?" Vannan said with a smile. He looked at Ichigo with a death glare and continued, "Well let's get this party started."

"Fine by me," Ichigo replied.

With those words, they clashed swords again.

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The first real battle coming up. I'm already excited. Keep reading to see what happens. **Review please!** They are my happiness and motivation.


	7. First Blood: Nelliel vs Tyreon

The fighting finally starts as Nelliel and Tyreon clash blades. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**7: First Blood- Nelliel vs. Tyreon**

Nelliel and Tyreon stopped a couple of hundred feet away from Los Noches in an open field. Both stared at each other for a while before Nelliel asked, "May I ask why you are here?"

"Why should I bother telling you?" Tyreon replied. "It's none of your business."

"Then can you at least tell me your name?"

"Very well," Tyreon said. "My name is Tyreon Demargo."

"Mine's Nelliel Tu Oderschvank, and that's the name of the person who's gonna kill you!" Nelliel said drawing her sword.

"Is that so?" Tyreon asked unsheathing his broad sword.

Without anymore words, they charged at each other. Their blades met at a fraction of a second. Sparks flew as they parried each other. Nelliel quickly used sonido to get behind Tyreon. When she got there, she swung her sword as fast as possible. Tyreon, however, was ready as he jumped to avoid her swing. He quickly did a 180 degree turn and aimed a kick at Nelliel, but she quickly jumped back to avoid it.

Both fighters stared at each other again. "Not bad," Tyreon commented. "I thought I would kill you with my first strike."

"Is that so?" Nelliel asked. She used sonido and appeared behind Tyreon at the blink of an eye, her sword ready. "Perhaps you shouldn't think of underestimating me!"

A second before her blade hit him, Tyreon side-stepped her strike. Not wasting a second, he smashed her across the face with his fist, sending her back a few steps. Blood came from her mouth as Tyreon smiled and said, "No, I think I'm about right at judging your strength."

"Bastard," Nelliel said wiping the blood from her mouth.

Before Nelliel understood what happened, Tyreon was behind her with his sword raised high above his head. She quickly rolled out of the way of his strike and swept her foot under his to send him to the ground. While on the ground Nelliel aimed her sword at his heart, but he quickly grabbed her arm and yanked her to the ground. Tyreon took his time to stand up and stomped his foot down on Nelliel's back. She screamed in pain, but was able to cut his leg with her sword.

Tyreon released his foot and took a few steps back, letting the blood run from his leg. "So you're not completely a novice when it comes to fighting," he said.

"What makes you think I would be?" Nelliel asked in an offended tone. "I used to be the Tercera Espada in Aizen's arrancar army."

"Tercera eh?" Tyreon said. "That's a relief."

"Why is that?" Nelliel asked.

"Because if you were the Primera it would concern me, but if you're above that, I know you can't match our power."

Rage was clearly showing on Nelliel's face now. She rushed at Tyreon yelling, "I keep telling you not to underestimate me!"

Tyreon simply smiled at the oncoming arrancar, commenting, "Responding to such a simple taunt and even forgetting to use sonido? Regrettable."

When she was close enough she thrust her sword at his head, but he tilted his head to the left and was able to grab the blade with his bare hand and pull it, bringing her closer to him. Before she got too close, she collided with his outstretched foot. Tyreon quickly kicked her in the chest, sending her back farther. She slid back a few feet, but didn't have time to recover as Tyreon appeared right in front of her and swung his sword at her. She barely had time to duck and she swung her sword at his chest, but he quickly sonidoed behind her and sliced her shoulder open with his blade.

Blood flew from her wound as Nelliel quickly used sonido to get away from him. Tyreon let the blood on his blade fall into the sand and said, "By responding to my simple taunt, I was able to score a damaging hit on you. To think that you can be angered so easily amazes me."

"You sure do like to talk," Nelliel commented. "Apologies if I seem a little angry, but I just saw my fraccion get injured not to long ago."

"That's still no excuse," Tyreon bluntly stated.

"I didn't think the likes of you would understand anyway," Nelliel said. "Now if we can continue with our little fight here, I'd like to finish it quickly so I can help my fraccion."

"Still thinking you can win after what you've just experienced," Tyreon said. "You're stupidity truly amazes me. I'll be sure to take that attitude of yours and thoroughly crush it to it's very core."

Without anymore words Tyreon charged up his purple cero on the tip of his horn-shaped hollow mask. "_Perfect_," Nelliel thought.

"Cero!" Tyreon yelled as he shot it at his enemy.

Just as it was about to reach her, Nelliel opened her mouth and was able to absorb the cero. "What the—" Tyreon said in shock.

Without any warning, she fired her Cero Doble at him. Tyreon was too surprised to move and took the cero full on. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a bleeding Tyreon. Rage was stamped on his face. Nelliel couldn't help but chuckle at her damaged adversary. "Now who's the one that responded to a simple taunt?"

"You stupid witch!" he replied in anger.

"While I'm at it," Nelliel said with a smirk, "I might as well show you something else."

She held out her sword horizontally in front of her and stated, "Declare Gamuza!"

"What the…" Tyreon said as her spiritual energy burst out, revealing her true form.

Nelliel appeared before Tyreon in her true form. Tyreon stared at her centaur-like new form, complete with a double-sided lance and bristling spirit energy. "I see," he simply said. "I guess apologies are in order, for I'm afraid I may have underestimated you."

"A little too late for that," Nelliel said charging at him with her lance at the ready.

Tyreon quickly used sonido and appeared in the air to the side of her, his sword poised to strike. He swung it down with great speed, but Nelliel was able to bring her lance up and counter it. The power of both blades clashing sent Tyreon back a few feet. "_Damn_," he thought. "_I can't use ceros due to her strange ability and it's starting to look like close-combats not gonna work out so well. I'll have to think of something fast._"

Before he had anymore time to think, Nelliel poised her lance into a throwing position. "Lanzador Verde," she said as she threw her lance at him.

"Damn!" he said struggling to avoid the oncoming lance.

The lance struck his right shoulder, piercing it despite his tough hierro, and sending him to his back. Before he knew it Nelliel picked up her lance was charging towards him, aiming for his heart. Before she struck, Tyreon hopped to his feet and charged a cero at her. When he fired it, she quickly absorbed it and fired another Cero Doble at him, resulting in a huge explosion.

Nelliel was still charging at the smoke, expecting to find Tyreon there, but it was too late when she noticed Tyreon suddenly appeared behind her and slashed her back. She screamed in pain as she quickly turned around to stop his next strike, but anger and vengeance was driving the arrancar now, and he was able to slice through her lance and scored a large blow across her chest.

With that blow, her Resurrección disengaged, and she fell to on her stomach. Tyreon stood over her panting heavily. A large amount of blood was flowing from her chest into the sand. Tyreon said to her unconscious form, "I'd like nothing better than to finish you off, but unfortunately I can't waste any more of my already draining strength on you, as I'm here on a mission."

Before he could start to leave, Nelliel's sword jabbed into his left shoulder. His hierro stopped most of the damage, but she drove her sword upward, tearing all of his clothing on the top right of his chest. He was able to knock her blade away before saying, "Give it up. You'll die faster if you overexert yourself."

"I keep telling you to not underestimate me," Nelliel said with a weak smile.

"I don't think I'll ever understand someone like you," Tyreon said looking towards the main building in Los Noches.

"Of course not, because someone like you is—" She paused as she saw a tattoo on the left side of his neck, depicting the number five on it. Starting to shake, she said, "You're only the fifth?"

Tyreon looked at her and said, "Hmm? Oh, how rude of me, forgetting to mention such a fact. Allow me to introduce myself again. Arrancar number five, Tyreon Demargo. It was a pleasure knowing you, Nelliel Tu Oderschvank."

He strapped his sword to his back and started walking away, giving his last words to her. "I wouldn't give you much longer to live. My suggestion, try to stay alive as long as possible, for even if you live through this, you can't beat the four arrancar stronger than me. Goodbye, Ex-Tercera Espada."

When he was out of sight, Nelliel started crawling inch by inch, saying to herself, "Be careful when fighting Ichigo…they're strong…stronger than you and I thought…"

She then fainted.

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Hope you enjoyed my fight, but why don't you let me know how you think by **Reviewing**. All reviews are greatly appreciated and would increase my happiness and motivation by a thousand. Anyway, next up is Hitsugaya vs. Stren.


	8. First Blood 2: Hitsugaya vs Stren

Another fight, this time Hitsugaya vs. Stren. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**8: First Blood 2- Hitsugaya vs. Stren**

Hitsugaya's blade clashed with Stren's under the blazing sunlight. Hitsugaya jumped back and quickly used shunpo to get ahead directly in front of him. Not wasting any time, he held his sword out and declared, "Hado 58: Tenran!"

A tornado-like wind was fired towards his opponent, sending him back a few feet. Before Stren knew it, Hitsugaya was behind him, swinging his sword down at his shoulder. Stren quickly reacted and blocked the blade with his arm. Hitsugaya jumped back and saw that his arm was uninjured from his sword strike. "That's some pretty tough hierro you got there," Hitsugaya commented.

"Indeed," Stren replied. "But I'm a bit concerned."

"Why?" asked Hitsugaya

"I'm seriously considering taking insult from you."

"And why would that be?" asked a slightly confused Hitsugaya.

"You seem to think that we're evenly matched with just your normal sword," Stren flatly stated. "It's insulting to a warrior such as myself to not even face your shikai."

"Is that so?" Hitsugaya said. "Well if that's the case, my apologies. Allow me show you my shikai's power."

"Looking forward to it," responded the arrancar.

"Sit upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" the 10th Division Captain declared.

Without waiting any longer, Hitsugaya swung his sword, sending his large ice dragon at him. Stren quickly jumped to the side to avoid it, but Hitsugaya turned his sword to follow him. Stren quickly hopped into the air, but the dragon still followed. Realizing no other option, Stren used sonido to appear in front of Hitsugaya. He quickly thrust his sword at the captain. Hitsugaya barely moved to the left, getting impaled in the shoulder. The ice dragon was about to hit Stren again, so he jumped away from him and the dragon retreated into Hitsugaya's sword.

"Not bad," Stren said. "Not bad at all. Exactly what I'd expect from a captain, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say it's rather weak."

"Leave it to an arrancar to underestimate his opponent," Hitsugaya snorted. "Your predecessors also did that, and look what happened to them."

"Ah, but you will soon find that I am not like my predecessors," Stren commented. "Now come, let's continue this battle."

"As you wish!" Hitsugaya said, summoning another ice dragon.

"Same trick?" Stren asked, jumping around to avoid it.

Suddenly, several more ice dragons appeared out of his sword, all coming at him at a different angle. "Well, well," Stren said, "looks like you're more skilled than I thought."

Before he realized what happened, Hitsugaya appeared right next to him, his chain-blade suddenly wrapped around his left arm, starting to freeze it. Stren looked at this for a second and then looked at all the ice dragons coming towards him. "Got you now!" Hitsugaya declared.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Stren said. "What should I do now?"

Both of his hands started to glow red. He aimed one at the oncoming dragons and the other at Hitsugaya. "Cero!" he exclaimed.

Hitsugaya quickly jumped away from the blast, taking his chain-blade with him. All the oncoming ice dragon were incinerated by Stren's cero. "Damn you," Hitsugaya said.

"Don't blame me Captain," Stren replied. "If you just show me the same move over and over I'm bound to find a way to counter it."

Hitsugaya used shunpo at the same time Stren used sonido. Their swords clashed as they both disappeared again. After several seconds of swordplay, Stren appeared over Hitsugaya's head. Hitsugaya looked up and all he saw was Stren saying, "Cero!"

He quickly used shunpo to escape and shot an ice dragon at his enemy, who landed and quickly appeared behind Hitsugaya, slashing him in the back. Hitsugaya defiantly swung his sword 180 degrees on an attempt to catch Stren, who in turn jumped in the air and kicked Hitsugaya across his face.

Hitsugaya flew several feet back and landed with a thud. Not wasting any time, Stren appeared over Hitsugaya and attempted to end his life with a sword thrust. Hitsugaya quickly parried his blow and slashed him across the chest, causing a minor cut. Stren smiled and picked Hitsugaya up. He brought him close and dealt him a swift head-butt. Hitsugaya moaned in pain as Stren did it two more times before throwing him to the floor.

Hitsugaya slowly got up, blood streaming down his face. Stren smiled and said, "This can't be all can it? I expected great things from you little captain."

Captain Hitsugaya slashed at the ground, sending a wave of ice towards his opponent. When he jumped to avoid it, Hitsugaya appeared behind him and attempted to stab the arrancar through his right shoulder. Before he could get it fully in, however, Stren turned around and smashed Hitsugaya across the face with his heavy forearm. Hitsugaya landed on the floor, coughing up blood.

"So pathetic," was all Stren could say.

Before he could say anything else, he grunted in pain. Ice started pouring out of his stab wound, causing him excruciating pain. "Y-You! What did you do?!"

"Nothing much," Hitsugaya replied. "Just injected some ice through my sword into your wound. Now what was that you were saying about being pathetic?"

"Don't get cocky brat!" Stren replied.

Without any warning, Stren stabbed his hand through his stab wound. After a second of digging, he pulled out a small icicle that was lodged in there. Panting heavily, he dropped it to the floor and smashed it. Returning to his normal voice, he stated, "I applaud you for that Captain. Forgive me for underestimating you."

"What say we finish this?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Sounds good," Stren said.

Without anymore words, their swords clashed. Hitsugaya swung his sword sideways, just for it to be parried by Stren's sword. He pushed his sword in the air, leaving Hitsugaya's chest defenseless. He threw a quick jab at Hitsugaya's stomach, causing him to cough up blood. With one hand, Hitsugaya grabbed his arm to keep him in place, and with the other swung his sword down on Stren's right shoulder.

Despite his hierro, the sword dug into his skin, causing him to bleed. Following Hitsugaya's move, Stren grabbed his arm with one hand and used the other for a swift jab to Hitsugaya's face. Before letting go, he swung a kick to the side of his head, sending him sprawling to the floor.

Stren quickly appeared in front of Hitsugaya and picked him up by his neck, attempting to strangle him. Hitsugaya struggled under Stren's strength. Thinking fast, he pointed his free hand at Stren's face and said, "Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

A red burst of energy came from Hitsugaya's head, hitting Stren in his face, forcing him to release his grip on Hitsugaya. Holding his face with both hands, Stren retreated a few steps. Hitsugaya didn't waste this opportunity and he swung his sword, slashing both of Stren's legs.

Stren swung his sword wildly with one hand, while still holding his face with the other. Retreating a few steps, Stren showed his bleeding face to his enemy. "You will pay for that," he said with anger in his voice.

"Why don't you just release your sword?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Don't test me whelp!" Stren said. "You'll soon find out that arrogance will be the death of you."

"Well by all means show me," Hitsugaya said with a smile.

Hitsugaya was surprised at what he saw next. Without any explanation his sword dematerialized and went onto both of his hands. When they settled there, they turned both his hands into animal paws, complete with a vicious set of claws. "What the hell is that?" Hitsugaya asked.

"You'll soon see," Stren said with a smile.

Before Hitsugaya knew it Stren was behind him, one paw above his head. Hitsugaya leapt to the side. When his paw connected with the ground it caused a massive explosion of dust, leaving a giant hole where it should be. Without hesitation, Stren aimed his other paw at Hitsugaya and charged a red cero. Without saying its name he shot it at him.

"_It's range is wider than before_," Hitsugaya thought as he tried to avoid it. He was hit with the wider cero and flew back. "_It's stronger too_," Hitsugaya continued.

"Where's your bravado now, huh?" Stren asked with a laugh.

Hitsugaya took up a battle stance and coolly said, "Your move."

Before either of them could attack, Tyreon appeared in the middle of them, stopping them both.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tyreon asked his fellow arrancar.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Stren asked.

"I took care of my enemy and now I see you're still wasting your time on him," Tyreon stated. "You should be ashamed of yourself. We're here on a mission, not just to fight."

"Our fight still isn't over yet," Stren protested.

"No more," Tyreon said, being the more sensible of the two. "We have to complete our task."

"Whatever," Stren said.

"Hey, wait!" Hitsugaya exclaimed.

"What?" Stren asked.

"Where the hell do you think you're goin'?"

"Are you deaf or something?" Stren mockingly asked. "You heard Tyreon, I'm leaving."

"Not until our fights finished," Hitsugaya replied.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so concerned about your fight, as you should be concerned with your friend that I nearly killed," Tyreon stated with a smirk.

"_Nelliel_," Hitsugaya thought. Without another word, he took off to go find her.

"Now come on, let's go," Tyreon said to Stren.

"You know, you can be a real buzz kill sometimes," Stren commented as his two paws for hands materialized back into his zanpakuto, returning his hand to normal.

Tyreon simply sighed and replied, "Yeah, I know…"

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Fight number two down. Next up is Ichigo vs. Vannan. **Review Please!** It would make me very very happy.


	9. First Blood 3: Ichigo vs Vannan

Last of the three fights, 5th Division Captain Ichigo vs. Arrancar Vannan. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**9: First Blood 3- Ichigo vs. Vannan**

Blood sprayed from Ichigo's open chest wound. He didn't expect Vannan to be so skillful with sonido. He jumped into the air and yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Vannan smirked at the captain and easily avoided his attack. Before Ichigo knew it, Vannan was behind him, his sword aimed to kill. He dealt Ichigo a swift slash to his back before kicking him in the back of his head to the ground. Ichigo slowly rose from the smoke only to say, "You…"

Vannan put his blade on his shoulder and simply replied, "That's strange…"

"What's strange?" Rukia asked in disbelief with what she just saw.

Vannan pointed to the ailing Ichigo and said, "I meant to kill him with that one strike to his back, but somehow I didn't…" After several seconds of thought, he shook his last sentence off and finished, "Oh well. I guess you're just better than I expected."

"Right back at you," Ichigo said with a weak smile.

Vannan scratched the back of his head and asked, "I've been wonderin', is that ridiculously large blade your shikai?"

"Yeah…" Ichigo replied. "So what?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Vannan said with his mock smile. "Shall we continue?"

"Why not?"

They both charged at each other. Ichigo swung first, attempting to slice off his head, but Vannan saw through it and ducked. While on the floor, she shot his foot up at Ichigo's stomach, winding him. Ichigo clutched his stomach while Vannan elbowed him in the back of his head, before sending him flying with a kick to his shoulder.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

A large wave of energy flew at Vannan. He quickly tried to side-step the blade, but it hit his stomach, causing a small wound. He looked at Ichigo, panting in his battle pose. "That move of yours," Vannan started asking, "is that all your shikai can do?"

"That's right."

Vannan sighed and replied, "Well that won't do now will it?"

Ichigo charged at his enemy yelling, "Shut up!"

He swung his blade down at Vannan, but he was able to grab it. While holding it, Vannan was able to kick Ichigo in the ribs, causing him to let go of his blade. Ichigo flew back into the wall in a heap. Vannan inspected his sword saying, "My my, such a large blade but it's not even that sharp." He threw it to Ichigo and finished, "Come on, I know you have a Bankai; why don't you show me it 5th Division Captain?"

Ichigo picked up his sword and replied, "If you wanna see it so badly, fine." He held out his sword and declared, "Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu!"

When the smoke cleared it revealed Ichigo with his condensed Zangetsu. Vannan noticed this and stated, "It actually shrinks your sword? What a weird Bankai you have."

Before he could blink, Ichigo was in front of him, sword at his neck. Vannan reacted quickly, but not fast enough, as Ichigo got deep slash in on his chest. While jumping back, Vannan didn't notice Ichigo was behind him. He brought his sword crashing down on Vannan's shoulder, sending him to the floor. As Vannan slowly rose, Ichigo was on him again, slashing his right arm. Vannan was able to kick Ichigo back, causing a break in the fighting.

With blood on the floor from Vannan's wounds, he smiled and said, "Whew! That's pretty good there. Being able to outmaneuver me like that, scary, scary. I guess I got no choice but to use it."

"Stop bluffing," Ichigo said. "Are you saying you have something up your sleeve?"

"Nothing to major I assure you, hardly worth your notice." He pointed his sword at Ichigo and finished, "But if you're that curious why don't you attack me and find out."

"I think I'll take you up on that," Ichigo said with a smile, charging at Vannan.

Ichigo swung his sword with lightning speed, but Vannan was prepared and blocked his attack. They stood there for a second, swords locked, staring at each other. Ichigo laughed and said, "Hah! I thought you said you had something up your slee—"

Without any reason, flames struck Ichigo in his chest, causing him to wince in pain. That second was all Vannan needed as he was able to punch Ichigo across his face and kick him back.

"What the hell was that?" Ichigo asked with confusion on his face.

Vannan stared with the same smile on his face and replied, "Who knows? If you attack you might be able to see it again."

"Don't underestimate me!" Ichigo yelled, suddenly appearing behind Vannan.

Vannan smirked, his blade was completely engulfed in flames which he used to parry Ichigo's sword. He looked at the surprised Ichigo and replied, "I think you're the one who's doing the underestimating."

"What the hell is that?" Ichigo asked in a surprised voice.

"While most arrancar only have a Resurrección, some of the more powerful ones have a skill special to them in their unreleased mode. I guess you could call it our shikai. Mine's nothing special. I can just set my blade on fire if I choose, causing more damage."

Saying nothing more, he poised his free hand and shot it into Ichigo's shoulder, causing blood to spurt out. Ichigo coughed up blood as Vannan threw him aside and laughed.

"Ichigo!" yelled Rukia, staring at her Captain on the floor. She then stared at her enemy and said, "Why you, you'll pay! Dance Sode no Shirayuki!" As soon as Rukia released her shikai, she continued, "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

A wave of ice shot out at Vannan, whose surprise showed, but was able to barely avoid it, getting hit in his left leg. He landed on the floor and saw that his left leg was frozen up to his knee. He looked at Rukia and smiled, saying, "Nice! Launching an attack so quickly. So this is what we can expect from lieutenant-level shinigami, eh? I'm really impressed."

"Shut up," Rukia simply replied. She poised her sword and finished, "Get ready to die!"

Vannan wagged his finger at her, saying, "Tsk, tsk, such a temper. Don't you know that a level-headed warrior fights better than a hot-headed one?"

Rukia was readying her next attack when she felt Vannan's presence behind her. She quickly turned around and saw his leg was unfrozen. "How?" was all she could mutter.

"Quite simple really," Vannan replied. "Your weapon uses ice, mine uses fire. It should be easy to figure out how mine's better than yours."

"You!" Rukia shouted. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

Another wave of ice shot out towards Vannan, but he was ready this time. He pointed his sword at the oncoming ice and said, "La llama que se funde." (Melting Flame)

His sword was suddenly set alight again and a funnel of fire shot out of it, melting the oncoming ice. Rukia saw this and said, "Damn! Some no mai, Tsu—"

Vannan was behind her. He looked at the ground and simply said, "It is finished."

Blood spurted out of Rukia's newly acquired wound from Vannan. She turned around to look at him, as he did to her, simply pointing to his sword that was on fire saying, "Don't worry, my sword may have cut you deep, but the fire seals up most of the wound. Despite that, there will be…a little blood."

Rukia's eyes closed as she fell on her stomach, dropping her sword in the process. "Oh my," Vannan said, "passed out after just one blow? Perhaps I overestimated you a little."

"Rukia…" he heard a voice say in the corner of the room.

He turned to see Ichigo trying to stand up and go towards his fallen lieutenant. Vannan smiled at this spectacle and used sonido to appear in front of him. "Don't worry about her, she should be fine…I think."

"Out of the way," Ichigo said quietly.

Vannan put his hand around one ear and leaned in asking, "Hmm? What was that?"

"MOVE!" Ichigo yelled poising his sword. "Getsuga Tensho!"

Vannan was thrown back by the force back by the force of the attack as Ichigo rushed towards Rukia. He rolled her over and looked at her wounds. "Nothing to serious, don't worry, I'll get you help soon."

Rukia opened her eyes slightly and simply said, "I…chigo…"

"Don't worry," Ichigo repeated. "I'll get you some he—"

His sentence was cut off as he felt Vannan behind him, with his sword alight. He quickly grabbed Rukia and hopped to the side. Vannan's strike was so great it left a hole in the ground where Ichigo would have been. He glared at an injured Vannan, with blood streaming down the side of his head. He still kept his smile and said to him, "What an unsportsmanlike attack."

"Like you're on to talk!" Ichigo retorted.

Vannan sighed as his blade set on fire again. "No matter. How about we finish off this little battle of ours, hmm?"

"Sounds good to me," Ichigo said, "I've gotta get help for Rukia anyway."

"Very good," Vannan replied. "Keeping a level head even with a wounded lieutenant. I like that!"  
No more words needing to be spoken, they both rushed at each other, ready to kill. Just when they were about to strike, Stren, Tyreon, and Enzai appeared between them. Stren parried Vannan's strike with his own sword as Tyreon did the same with Ichigo. Vannan looked at Enzai, who was in the middle of them and said, "I didn't know you were coming along with us."

"_Damn, reinforcements_," Ichigo thought.

"Enough of this needless fighting," Enzai replied. "You three fools can't even complete a simple task, forcing me to do it. Good thing Grimmjow-sama told me to follow along just in case."

"Grimmjow?!" Ichigo said. "So he is the leader."

Enzai looked at Ichigo behind his mask and stated, "I forgot you were here." He raised his hand towards him and said, "Disappear!"

Ichigo felt a tremendous force push him back, sending him against the wall. "Now don't you think that was a bit harsh?" Vannan asked in a kind-natured voice.

"You're one to talk," Stren said. "You fought the entire time all three of us were looking for what we came here for. Although it didn't take us long to find it, we had to go clear across Los Noches."

"Well when you put it like that you make me seem like the bad guy," Vannan replied in an upbeat tone.

"Enough," Enzai said creating a garganta where they were. "We're leaving now."

All four arrancar walked through the garganta, and it disappeared in relative obscurity. As soon as they left Ichigo stood up holding his head, saying, "Oof! What the hell was that?"

He noticed the lack of arrancar in the room and said to himself, "Damn! I let them get away."

Just then Hitsugaya burst through a hole in the wall saying, "Come with me, Kurosaki. Nelliel was injured."

"Nel?!" Ichigo said. He quickly ran to the unconscious Rukia and finished, "How could they get her?"

Ichigo and Hitsugaya shunpoed to Nelliel's position. She was conscious and on her back now, but her wound was still bleeding profusely. "This is bad," Ichigo commented. "We gotta get her outta here."

"Wait Ichigo," Nelliel said. "Before you go, I have to tell you something…"

"What is it?" Ichigo asked in a hurry.

"Before the arrancars interrupted your fight, they passed through here and I saw that one of them was holding something of importance that we keep here."

"Item of importance?" Ichigo repeated. "What was it?"

Nelliel coughed up some blood before saying, "He was holding the Gillian Whistle…"

She then fainted.

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What could the Gillian Whistle be? Next chapter shall explain it. On a side note, even after nine chapters no one has **reviewed**! Why is this? Even if there's something wrong, let me know what I could do better with a review. I would greatly appreciate it.


	10. Significance

Back from their mission, Ichigo tries to find out the importance of the Gillian Whistle. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**10: Significance**

Mr. Urahara was expecting something bad to come out of his garganta, but nothing like this. Everyone in Ichigo's party was injured in some way. Only Ichigo, Hitsugaya, and Dondochakka were able to walk, and each of them were carrying someone wounded. "What the hell happened?" Yoruichi asked, rushing over to help with the wounded.

"Let's just say we ran into some trouble," Ichigo said with a small smile. "Nothing major,"

Mr. Urahara walked up to Ichigo and said, "You say nothing major and yet, I'm seeing some very distinctive wounds on you as well."

"Either way, we need to get them to Soul Society right away," Ichigo said. He turned to Hitsugaya and said, "Open up the portal please."

Hitsugaya nodded as the door to Soul Society opened. When they stepped through, Mr. Urahara asked, "Mr. Kurosaki, when this little ordeal is over, you'll tell me what's going on right?"

Ichigo smiled and nodded replying, "Yeah, I'll let you know all about it."

The door then shut.

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4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana sighed at this sight. "Ran into some trouble did we?" she asked half-seriously.

"We don't have time to explain now," Ichigo said. "Rukia and Nel need immediate attention. Hurry!"

Captain Unohana closed her eyes and replied, "Very well. Quickly take her to the infirmary and I'll take a look at her."

Ichigo nodded as they all ran into the infirmary. Ichigo put Rukia on the closest bed while Dondochakka put Nel and Pesche on two beds as Hitsugaya put Gantenbainne on another. Unohana followed shortly after. She inspected the wounded, and then turned to Ichigo and Hitsugaya saying, "You look like you need some medical attention yourself. Go find a bed and I'll have my squad check you out."

They both sighed and Ichigo replied, "Alright…"

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After a lot of shouts and pain, Ichigo's treatment was complete. When it was done, he was breathing heavily and about to pass out from pain. He looked to his healer and asked, "Couldn't you at least have used some form of painkillers?"

The healer smiled and replied, "Nonsense, your wounds were much too trivial for such things."

"Yeah, sure," Ichigo said falling back on his bed. "When can I leave this place?"

"Why, you can leave right now," the healer said nonchalantly.

"Why didn't you say so?" Ichigo said jumping from out of bed.

When he ran away the healer stared at him and said to himself, "He makes it seem like it's my fault…"

Ichigo stopped by Nel and Rukia's beds to see how they were doing. Their treatments were also finished, and they both lay quietly in bed. Ichigo watched them for a minute before Unohana appeared behind him, giving him a small fright. When he settled down, Captain Unohana made his fears go away by saying, "Do not worry. They both will be fine, although they both need some time to recover. Why don't you go see Yamamoto and let him know what's going on."

"Right," Ichigo said, leaving the infirmary.

He burst into Yamamoto's room without warning and exclaimed, "Captain-General, I have news of our…"

He stopped when he only saw Yamamoto's Lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe sitting down drinking a cup of tea. He pointed to the door on the wall adjacent to him and simply said, "Next room."

"T-Thanks," Ichigo stuttered, unsure of the weirdness that just happened.

He walked through the door to see Captain-General Yamamoto talking to Shunsui Kyoraku and Izuru Kira. All three looked at him as Ichigo said, "Captain-General, I bring news from our venture to Las Noches."

"Good, tell us," Yamamoto said. "Did you find out about our enemy?"

"I did," Ichigo replied. "I know for a fact now that Grimmjow is their leader."

"So you engaged him?" Shunsui asked.

"Well no, he wasn't there, but his underlings were…"

"So you know where their base is?" Kira asked.

"No…"

"So what the hell happened?" Yamamoto asked with impatience.

"Well it went like this," Ichigo explained. "We went to Nelliel's place to get some information. After a quick talk we were attacked by three arrancar. I fought with one named 'Vannan', while Captain Hitsugaya engaged one, and Nelliel engaged the other. Nelliel lost and apparently Hitsugaya's retreated. In the middle of my fight we were interrupted by a new arrancar. He mentioned Grimmjow's name before he pushed me back. When they left I went to go check on Nel, and she mentioned something about them stealing the Gillian Whistle. I couldn't find out any more as she fainted. We quickly came back here and were hospitalized. I was able to get out first and now I'm reporting to you." Ichigo had to catch his breath after such a long-winded speech.

"Gillian Whistle eh?" Kyoraku said. "Not somethin' I've heard of before. If they sent four guys after it, it must have been important."

"We should find out what this is as soon as possible," Yamamoto said, "but Nelliel's unconscious at the moment."

"Hold on a sec, Ol' Yama," Shunsui said with a wave of his hand. "I think we might know someone else who knows about this."

"Well let's go then," Ichigo exclaimed.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Captain Kyoraku waved. "I should warn you, he doesn't like to be disturbed at this time."

"Who cares," Ichigo stubbornly commented. "Let's go."

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"Are you guy's stupid or what?" Stark asked with a yawn, just being woken up from his nap.

"_Figures_," all four captains thought at the same time.

"Just think about it. What else would a _Gillian_ whistle do other than summon gillian's?"

"I guess that makes sense," Ichigo said, feeling a bit stupid.

"But why would Grimmjow send four arrancar to get such a simple item," Stark asked to himself.

"Could he be trying to build another army of arrancars?" Kira suggested.

"I don't think so," Stark replied. "He wouldn't want gillian-class arrancar. They could easily be taken out by lieutenant-level shinigami, and it wears out the Hogyoku to make a lot of arrancar at once, so here's no point."

"Maybe he just wants the gillian for regular fighting purposes," Ichigo said.

"I don't think he would need the Gillian Whistle just to call them," Stark retorted. "If he really wanted to, he could call them with ease."

"Then what does he want it for?" Kyoraku asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know," Stark said. "But I think I know someone who does."

Stark got up from his bed. "Where we goin'?" Kira asked.

"We're gonna have to travel a bit to find this guy."

"Where is he?"

Stark looked at the four captains and replied, "The Maggots Nest."

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The five captains arrived at the Maggots Nest with a bad feeling in their stomach. "Never liked being here too much," Kyoraku stated. "It always brought down my mood." He turned to Kira and joking said, "But it should go perfectly with your gloomy attitude."

Kira didn't respond as he knew who they were about to see. They walked in and passed all of the violent criminals who just stared, not daring to try and fight them. In the very back there was a solid lead door. Yamamoto stopped and stated, "There aren't many of these doors around, they're reserved for the most deadly criminals, and deadly this one is."

They opened the door to reveal Gin Ichimaru sitting down, arms and legs shackled together. He stared up at them with his closed eyes and said, "Such flattering words, almost makes me wanna blush from embarrassment."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Ichigo said, looking at the captive, who stared right back at them with that never-changing smile.

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Another player joins the game. Give me some feedback by **REVIEWING!** Any and all reviews are greatly appreciated and would make my day.


	11. In the Presence of a Deciever

Resorting to asking Gin, the five captains are desperate to get some answers. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**11: In the Presence of a Deceiver**

Gin didn't bother getting up in the presence of his five visitors. He did notice something strange however, and commented on it. "Why, Izuru, that looks like a captain's haori. Don't tell me you…"

Kira's face showed it all. Gin kept his smile and continued, "Well, I guess congratulations are in order. I knew you would do fine on your own."

"Enough," Yamamoto stated. "We're here today because we have some questions for you Gin."

"You keep me locked up for ten years after killing two of my best friends and now you show up out of the blue without so much as a visit before and you're only wanting information out of me? Come now, I know you can do better than that."

"We don't have time for games," Stark said. "We need you to start talking."

Gin looked at Stark and replied, "So the traitorous arrancar wants the traitorous shinigami to talk, hmm?"

Stark let that last comment go as Yamamoto took over. "Look, we all know what you have done is unforgivable, but even I can see that it's not entirely your fault. If you help us out with this current predicament, I'm sure I can find a way to make your eternity in jail more comfortable."

"Pass," Gin immediately said. "I actually like it here. I'd much rather be alone than outside with all those cretins. Nothing you can say will change my mind on the matter, so you're better off following some other lead to find out what you want."

"Doesn't seem like he's gonna cooperate Ol' Yama," Shunsui said. "Let's just get outta here."

Ichigo, however, was determined to get something out of the former captain. He got close to Gin and asked, "Why would arrancars want the Gillian Whistle?"

For a brief second, Gin's normally cheery face disappeared into deep thought, but quickly reappeared. "Gillian Whistle, eh?" he said quietly. "Well then, it appears I've had a change of heart. I'll tell you everything you need to know about the Gillian Whistle."

The captain's decided not to ask why he suddenly felt talkative until they got the information they needed. "Very well," Stark said. "We know that they can easily summon the gillians without the whistle, so why go through so much trouble to get it?"

"Only one word comes to my head when I hear Gillian Whistle," Gin said.

"Which is?" Ichigo asked.

"Superchunky," the smiling man answered.

"What?" all five captains asked at the same time. "What the hell is Superchunky?"

"Tsk, tsk," Gin said, mainly to Stark. "I'm surprised you can forget. I know I can't forget such a large hollow so easily."

Suddenly everyone except Ichigo knew who he was talking about. It was indeed hard to forget such a creature. Yamamoto, Stark, Kyoraku, and Kira all remember when they saw him. He was the creature that appeared out of nowhere with that strange arrancar Wonderweiss. He was the one that freed Aizen, Gin, and Tosen from their fiery prison. After Aizen and Tosen's death, he simply fled, never to be seen again.

"Superchunky's just a nickname that little freak Wonderweiss gave him," Gin continued. "No one knows that thing's real name. With the exception of Wonderweiss, that whistle is the only thing that can summon him from the depths of Hueco Mundo."

"So Grimmjow wants to use him to lay siege to Soul Society," Ichigo said.

"That would be my guess," Gin said relaxing more in his chair.

"One more thing," Yamamoto said with curiosity. "Why would you suddenly feel like telling us about this?"

"Nothing much," Gin said with a smile. "It's just that I know for a fact that if it was Grimmjow who got their hands on the Gillian Whistle, he wouldn't waste time in using it."

"What?" they all said in unison.

As if by magic, they felt a rumble on the ground. One of the Maggot's Nest guards ran into the room and said, "A whole mess of gillians are attacking Soul Society!"

"Damn!" Yamamoto said. He started walking away, rapping out orders to everyone. "Ichigo, Kira, Stark, go fight them off. Shunsui, come with me to gather our soldiers."

"Yes sir!" all four captains said.

They all left the room, and were about to shut the door. Just before it closed, they could see Gin smiling issuing his last words. "Have fun…"

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Panic ensued as citizens ran away from the monstrosities that were the gillians. They gave out shrieks of rage, smashing buildings left and right. 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura appeared on the scene first with his squad. He looked at the sight and simply said, "Damn! There's so many of them…"

He then turned to his lieutenant Iba and said, "Iba, tell the rest of the squad to protect the citizens. I'm going to need you to back me up here."

"Yes, sir!" replied Iba before leaving for a short time to issue orders to the squad.

Captain Komamura looked at the countless number of gillian and said to them, "Let's see how you like this. Bankai, Kokujo Tengen Myo'o!"

As he said those words, his giant armored warrior appeared behind him. Without wasting any time, he swung his sword towards the closest gillian, and the warrior followed, crushing the gillians head with its giant sword. He swung his sword horizontally to two gillian, slaying them instantly. All the other gillian noticed this and focused on Komamura.

He quickly killed the closest gillian closing in on him before taking a step back on the advancing gillian. He was able to slay two more before one finally got a hit on his giant, causing him pain. He winced for a second, and that was all the gillian needed to charge a cero, hitting the giant directly in the face, sending Komamura to the ground. He quickly scrambled up and tried to kill another, but two gillian sneaked up on him when he wasn't looking. He tried to attack them, but failed as his giant took another direct cero.

"_Too many…_" he thought as his giant started to disappear.

Just then his lieutenant Iba appears overhead, landing on one of the gillians head. He quickly pulls out his shikai zanpakuto and stabs it in the head. When the other closest gillian went towards him, he charged up a lightning ball on the protrusion on his sword and shot it at the gillians head, killing it.

He quickly ran to his ailing captain saying, "Captain Komamura! Hold on, help's on the way."

Komamura only smiled at his lieutenant and replied, "You're late…Iba."

"Sorry Captain," Iba said with honesty.

He was so caught up in their conversation he didn't notice a gillian sneaking up on him. He quickly got in front of his captain, sword at the ready, when he heard someone else on the battlefield.

"Sting all enemies to Death Suzumebachi!"

Without warning, someone flashed by the gillian. Before he could process what happened, two butterflies appeared on its chest, and it gave a final roar before disappearing.

Soi Fon landed next to Komamura and Iba with a smile. Her lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda appeared shortly after her. Soi Fon noticed the wounded Komamura and said, "Don't worry, 4th Division's on its way. They'll be here shortly." She turned to Omaeda and finished, "We're gonna have to buy some time until the other squads get here; ready Omaeda?"

"Does it matter if I wasn't?" Omaeda asked.

Soi Fon simply smiled at this and replied, "Of course not. Let's go."

Omaeda matched her smile and complied. "All right…"

Without another word, both shinigami disappeared to deal with the mass of oncoming gillian.

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Yuka Feron couldn't help but let out a little chuckle in the narrow street way she was in as she saw a mass of shinigami running towards the all the gillian. "Look at all those idiots fallin' for it. They don't even know three arrancar infiltrated their precious Soul Society along with those gillians."

Vannan Skype, who was brought along, simply sighed, saying, "Two back-to-back missions? I think our leaders a sadist. This is like torture…"

"Shut up," Enzai said to both of them. ""The less time you argue, the faster you can go home."

"Good," Vannan said with another sigh. "I don't wanna be here any longer than necessary."

Yuka kicked Vannan in anger. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the spot he got hit in.

"You're such a downer! I can't stand it! Try and be positive for once!"

"Shut up," Enzai repeated. "We're bound to be noticed if you keep making loud noises like that."

"Too late," all three arrancar heard. They turned around to see the voice belonged to 3rd Division Captain Izuru Kira. "Well I guess this is what I get for trying to take the back alley."

"Looks like a captain found us," Vannan said with a hint of irony in his voice. "Nice going Yuka…"

She gave Vannan another swift kick saying, "It's not my fault, shut up!" She then turned to Kira and continued in a more serious tone. "Looks like you're not gonna let us off easy are you?"

"You guessed right," Kira said.

Yuka smiled and drew her kunai-shaped zanpakuto. "I'll take care of this guy, you go on ahead."

"Fine," Enzai said with a sigh. "Let's go Vannan."

Before Vannan left, he gave Yuka a word of advice. "Try not to die!"

"Like I need you to tell me that," Yuka muttered. She turned back to Kira and demanded, "Tell me your name Mr. Captain."

"3rd Division Captain, Izuru Kira," Kira replied.

"Kira, eh?" Yuka said. "I like that name. Too bad mine's better. Arrancar number four, Yuka Feron. I hope you've taken note of my name, cause it's the last name you're gonna hear!"

"Is that so?" Kira said. "I guess we'll just have to see…"

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Showdown! Kira vs. Yuka; who will come out on top? Give me some feedback by **REVIEWING** please. Any and all criticism is accepted (as long as it's constructive).


	12. Beware the Shadows

Captain vs. Arrancar. Who will win? Also featuring my very first original Resurreccion. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**12: Beware the Shadows**

"Hado 58: Tenran!"

Yuka was lightly tossed back by the mini-tornado Kira had caused. She did a back flip in the air and landed lightly on her feet. She laughed and commented, "You think you can get me with Kido?"

"Seems to be working well so far," Kira said with his general monotonous voice.

"That's what you think," Yuka said snapping her fingers.

As soon as she snapped them, a light wound opened up on Kira's arm, causing a small amount of blood to come out. "You shouldn't underestimate me, the fastest of all the arrancar!" she boasted.

Kira scratched the back of his head and asked, "By the way, you said you're the fourth arrancar, does that mean you're a part of the Espada?"

Yuka gave a hearty laugh when the question was asked. When she calmed down, she answered, "Of course not idiot. Espada means 'Ten Blades', and there are only six of us arrancar causing all this trouble."

"I see," Kira responded. "Well that's a relief…"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Yuka said. "Just because there's less of us doesn't mean we're any less deadly than the original Espada. In fact, I'd say we all rival the original top three Espada in strength!"

"Top three, huh?" Kira repeated. "Guess I have no choice, I'll have to kill you to lessen your numbers."

"You think you can kill me?" Yuka said with a chuckle before disappearing. She appeared behind Kira in the blink of an eye and finished, "I'd like to see you try!"

Kira quickly jumped away, but not before she slashed his back with her zanpakuto. Before he could land, she jumped at him again, and they clashed blades in the air. She was able to push Kira to the ground, sending him tumbling. He quickly jumped back up and looked around. He saw her charging towards him and readied his sword. She was about to strike, when he saw another one of her on the opposite side of the one charging at her. He looked up and saw her in the air as well.

"What's wrong?" he heard her ask, not knowing where it originated from. "Bet you can't tell which on is the real me can you? One of the perks of being the fastest is that you can leave behind many afterimages like this."

Before he could respond, he felt three afterimages behind him. He quickly turned around and saw he was surrounded on all sides by her afterimages. "So can you tell which is the real me?" she mocked. "Better hurry or I'll close in on you."

Kira quickly aimed his arm at one and quickly said, "Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

A red ball of energy quickly shot at the one he thought was the real Yuka. It went through her and hit the wall, leaving a hole in it. Before he knew it, he could hear her voice right behind him saying, "Sorry, time's up!"

He quickly swung around and brought his sword up, barely blocking her kunai-shaped zanpakuto. The force of the blow sent them both back a few feet. She spat on the ground and asked, "Is that really all? Come on, I know you got more than this 3rd Division Captain."

"You talk too much," Kira simply replied.

"What's that supposed to—" Yuka started, but stopped when she saw Kira appear right in front of her, sword at the ready.

She quickly jumped back, and Kira answered her unfinished question. "It means that talking leaves you wide open."

There was a hint of anger in Yuka's voice as she replied, "Is that so? Well I won't make that mistake again I'm afraid." She raised her zanpakuto at him and finished, "In fact, I'll finish you with the next blow!"

She quickly disappeared and ran all around Kira, causing several afterimages. "Well this seems to be a bit of a stretch…" commented Kira. He quickly turned to where the most afterimages were and chanted, "Hado 33: Sokatsui!"

Several blue beams shot out of the shinigami's hand, each of them aiming for an afterimage. While most disappeared upon contact, but the real Yuka quickly turned to the side, but got grazed in the arm. She landed and asked, "What the hell did you do?"

"Just used a simply Kido spell," Kira explained, "although I did narrow its width to compress its destructive power."

"Bastard!" was all Yuka could say.

"And while I'm at it," Kira continued, "I guess I'll try to end this as quickly as possible. Raise your head, Wabisuke."

With those words, Kira's zanpakuto lost its curve and straightened to a ninety degree angle, forming an incomplete square, reminiscent of a hook. Kira looked at her with his newly shaped blade and taunted, "Come on, why not try and strike me again."

Yuka laughed at this and replied, "Don't take me for an idiot. I know what your zanpakuto does. There's no way I'm gonna touch that sword and let it double the weight of my zanpakuto. Instead, I'll simply show you the same respect and reveal my true form, and crush you like a pulp." She pointed her zanpakuto at Kira and finished, "Become the Shadows, Asesino Silencioso (Silent Assassin)!"

With those words, her zanpakuto started glowing and smoke started dissipating from them. When the smoke cleared, Kira saw that she was gone. After realizing this he immediately felt a raking pain on his back. He instinctively swung his sword in that direction and jumped back.

He looked in the direction to see Yuka in her release form. Her mask fragment had fully reformed to surround her entire head like a shroud, only leaving a small rectangular slit for her eyes. Her arrancar outfit was closed now and grew sleeves, revealing no skin, and her hakama changed into white pants, tightly held together to her arrancar jacket by a white sash. Instead of having her kunai zanpakuto, it transformed into metal claws that covered both her hands.

Behind her mask she said to the bewildered captain, "What's wrong? You wondering how I was able to sneak behind you? Since it's over, let me show you why I shall defeat you."

A second after she said that, she started sinking into the ground until she disappeared entirely, leaving behind only a shadow. The shadow quickly moved under Kira and when it was behind him, she jumped from the ground with her claws ready. Kira quickly ducked and swung his sword, but she was too fast and was spaced in front of him. "That power allows you to—" Kira started.

"That's right!" Yuka finished with a laugh. "My power allows me to transform into a shadow to sneak up on my enemy. You don't stand a chance 3rd Division Captain."

With those words she sunk back into the ground. Kira started moving away from the shadow on the floor, but it quickly moved to the wall next to him and she appeared, quickly raking his shoulder with her claws before disappearing again. Kira's mind started racing as he tried to decide the best way to deal with her. He decided what to do and stopped. He saw her shadow approach on the wall closest to him. As soon as she was about to strike he jumped back and quickly stated, "Bakudo 30: Shitotsu Sansen!"

Just when Yuka exposed herself, three golden rods pinned her against the wall, leaving her wide open. Not wasting any time, Kira ran towards her, prepared to strike. "It's useless…" Yuka said.

Just when Kira was about to strike, Yuka morphed back into the wall, completely escaping the Kido spell. Kira stared at this for a second and didn't notice Yuka behind him. She jumped from the ground to strike him just when he turned around with a bewildered look on his face. She lunged one of her metal claws right into his shoulder, sending blood spraying everywhere. Before Kira could even lift his sword she pulled back and went into the ground again.

Kira used shunpo to get a good difference from her and said to himself, "Damn! I really didn't wanna have to resort to this, but it looks like I'm going to have to."

As the shadow was drawing closer to him, Kira held his sword straight out in his right hand, pointing it at an angle at the ground. Before she could get any closer, he said what was necessary.

"Bankai!"

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What is Kira's Bankai going to be?

Let me know how I'm doing by **REVIEWING** please. Any and all criticism is accepted (as long as it's constructive).


	13. The 3rd's Bankai

The conclusion to their fight, along with a twist at the end. Featuring my first original Bankai as well. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**13: The 3rd's Bankai**

Yuka was drawing closer towards her enemy when she heard him utter those words.

"Bankai!"

Yuka's curiosity got the better of her as she jumped from the ground to see the smoke go around Kira. She smirked behind her mask and said, "Bankai, eh? This should get interesting…"

As the smoke cleared, it revealed Kira with his Bankai. He was now covered from head to toe in protective samurai-like armor, only revealing his face from under his helmet. Instead of having a right hand, it was replaced with the blade of Wabisuke, making it look like he has a hook for a hand. When the last of the smoke cleared he finished, "Kikou Wabisuke (Armored Penitent One)!"

"That's your Bankai?" Yuka asked.

"It is," Kira simply answered.

"It just looks like you're trying to protect yourself from my attacks by wearing all the armor," the arrancar commented. "My metal claws could easily tear that armor to shreds."

"You'll never know until you try," Kira said raising his right arm.

Yuka grinned as she morphed into the ground and rushed at an armored Kira. While getting to him, she yelled at him, "It's almost like an ancient battle between ninjas and samurai! Let's see how this one ends!"

Kira attempted to move, but was slowed by his new armor. "Hah!" she yelled as she quickly jumped up and struck his chest, causing a dent in his armor.

"Almost! Let's try another!" she said with a laugh.

Kira attempted swinging his Wabisuke at her, but she swiftly avoided and thrust her claw at him, causing an ever greater dent, but not penetrating his armor. Kira took a few steps back and kept swinging his Wabisuke, but she kept neatly avoiding all of his swings, each time, scoring several hits on his armor, each hit slowly wearing it down. After several more hits, his armor tore, revealing his body.  
"Got you!" Yuka said triumphantly, poising to strike the newly revealed area. "Time to die!"

Before she could strike, she felt a tremendous pressure push down on her, forcing her to her knees. "What the hell?!" she said in a mix of anger and shock. "What's going on?!"

"It shouldn't be that hard to figure out," Kira said, from a few feet away from her. "You simply fell prey to my zanpakuto's weight-changing abilities."

"How's that possible?" she asked, attempting to move. "I never touched your blade."

"While it's true that you never touched Wabisuke," Kira answered, "it is true that you touched the armor protecting me. You see, during my Bankai, Wabisuke's effect appears all over my armor, making it the same as if you actually hit my blade. How many times did you hit my armor in an attempt to destroy it? Too many to count. The weight must be unbearable on you right now."

"Don't get too cocky!" Yuka said, as she started morphing her legs into the ground. "I'll just disappear and aim for your face, killing you in one—"

Before she could finish, Kira was behind her. Without wasting any movements, he swung Wabisuke several times on both her shoulders, forcibly stopping her from morphing when she was at her waist.

"How can you be this fast with armor on?" asked a newly surprised Yuka. "You haven't been this fast since I've been fighting you with your Bankai."

"I was never that slow," Kira said from behind. "I just wanted you to think I was, so you wouldn't know of my Bankai's effect."

"You son of a—"

"Poor planning on your part," Kira said cutting her off. "You said you knew of my shikai's ability, yet you knew nothing of my Bankai's, which made it quite simply to put on a show for you in order to fool you. And now…" He put the blade of Wabisuke across Yuka's throat. "It's time to fulfill my promise…" he finished.

"D-Damn it…" was all a defeated Yuka could mutter.

With a cold look on Kira's face, he pulled his right arm back, finishing the arrancar off. When it was finished, his Bankai disappeared to his normal blade. He sheathed his sword and stood up. While walking away from her body he said with a sigh, "It's gonna be hard getting your body out of the ground…"

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Enzai felt a disturbance as he and Vannan kept moving towards their destination. Vannan sensed something and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Yuka's been defeated," he simply said.

"Ouch!" Vannan replied. "I can't believe she lost to that dude with the weird hairstyle. Well at least we don't have to go back and meet her."

"You should at least feel some sorrow for her," Enzai commented.

Vannan's smile stayed on his face as he replied, "I know it's strange, but I don't feel anything like that right now."

"I don't think I'll ever be able to understand you," Enzai bluntly stated.

"Dully noted," Vannan replied. "Now how much longer until—"

He stopped as they were both cut off by Tia Harribel. "Got you!" she said.

"We were so distracted by Yuka's death that we didn't even notice her coming," Vannan said to his companion. "Well, I guess this one's up to me."

He quickly drew his sword and used sonido to attack Harribel, who quickly drew her zanpakuto and parried. Vannan turned to Enzai and finished, "You go on ahead and let me know when you're done."

Enzai simply nodded and used sonido to disappear from the battle.

Vannan jumped back and innocently said to the former Tercera, "My name's Vannan Skype, but you can call me Van if you want." His request was met with an icy glare from Harribel. "Okay, okay, take it easy," Vannan continued. "Clearly you don't wanna break the ice. Could you at least tell me your name?"

"9th Division Lieutenant Tia Harribel."

"Harribel, eh? Sounds familiar." Truth dawned upon Vannan as he finished, "You're one of the arrancar we were trying to recruit. So I guess you refused our generous offer."

Harribel struck up a fighting stance. "Not much a talker are ya'? Very well, if it's a fight you want, I'll happily give you one."

They both rushed at each other and clashed with blades. Not a second after their blades met, they both used sonido to appear in the air and clashed blades again. Vannan aimed a kick at her stomach, sending her to the ground. She took it full force and landed on her feet. Vannan landed a few feet away from her and commented, "You're pretty good. Guess I can't waste any time with this."

He quickly activate his power, setting his sword alight with flames. Harribel saw this and immediately knew it was deadly. Focusing her energy, she filled the hollow version of her sword with energy. She aimed it at him and said, "Projectile Azul!"

As the energy barreled towards Vannan he held out his sword and said, "La llama que se funde!"

A funnel of fire shot out from his sword, hitting the Projectile Azul dead on. The power of both caused a massive explosion between them. When the smoke cleared, Vannan stared at Harribel with a smile saying, "Not bad at all. To be able to counter one of my attacks like that, I'd say we're evenly matched."

"Then allow me to turn the tables," Harribel replied, opening her shinigami uniform, revealing her hollow mask and her Espada tattoo.

"That's your hollow mask," Vannan asked looking at it. "Damn. I like how it's got perfect censorship, even though you're showing your entire chest right now. The guys must hate it when they see that." He noticed her tattoo and finished, "And you were the Tercera Espada? No wonder you're so tough."

Not bother to reply to his comments, she pointed her sword down at the ground and thought, "_Have to be careful. I don't want to cause too much destruction in Soul Society._"

Without wasting anymore time, she said, "Attack Tiburon!"

As the water swirled around Harribel, Vannan could feel the power that was radiating from it. He simply said quietly to himself, "This is gonna get tough…"

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Enzai had just arrived at the Maggots Nest. He looked back and saw silhouettes of gillian fighting. He smiled inwardly to himself, knowing they served the perfect distraction. Before the two guards could even notice him, he was in front of them and quickly killed them both.

He entered the Maggots Nest and all of the prisoners realizing Enzai's power, backed off. When he arrived at the right door, he used his sword to cut down the door. When the dust settled, it revealed Gin coughing. "Hey, watch what you're doing!" he said. "Recklessness like that never pays off."

"Hello Gin," greeted Enzai.

"Well look who finally decided to show up," Gin commented. "I was under the impression that this wouldn't take too long."

Enzai walked closer to Gin and used his sword to cut his binds. He then produced another sword and handed it to Gin. After several seconds of Gin marveling the sword, Enzai asked, "How does it feel to have your zanpakuto back?"

"Feels pretty good," Gin replied while standing up. While stretching, he asked, "Why did it take so long for this to happen? Not that I'm complaining of course."

"Let's just say there were a few problems," Enzai replied. "No matter, everything is worked out now and Grimmjow-sama is making the necessary preparations."

"Why do you call him Grimmjow-_sama_?" Gin asked with curiosity. "You know damn well that he works for you."

"I guess it's a habit," Enzai said. "I call him that whenever I'm by the other arrancar to keep up this charade. At long last though, I can show my true face." Enzai looked at the exit and ripped off his hollow mask. Without turning around he asked, "Shall we go then Gin?"

With the same smile on his face, Gin replied, "Of course Captain Aizen."

Aizen kept looking at the exit of the Maggots Nest, but Gin knew full well that a mischievous smile was on the shinigami traitor's face.

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He finally reveals who he really is. Now how will Soul Society deal with this threat?

Let me know how I'm doing by **REVIEWING** please. Any and all criticism is accepted (as long as it's constructive).


	14. Revelations

Aizen finally reveals himself to the shinigami. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**14: Revelations**

Despite all the fighting, the endless horde of gillian didn't let up. Even the recent reinforcements that had arrived were growing tired. Rangiku Matsumoto, who came late in the battle, cursed at their seemingly endless numbers.

"Damn it! There's just not end to them."

Soi Fon, who had been battling furiously since the beginning, was feeling the toll of battle as the blood fled from her body and her vision began to dim. Yet still they came, pushed on by some unknown force, the gillian took no prisoners, slaying all in their sight. Iba protected his still-breathing captain and had suffered many injuries himself. He suddenly saw one charging a massive cero at the entire wounded group.

"_It's over_," he thought to himself.

"Sogyo no Kotowari!" they heard a voice said. They all looked behind to see Jushiro Ukitake, Stark, and Lilynette suddenly rushing to the scene. Ukitake pointed his sword at the gillian charging the cero.

Just as it shot the cero at the group, Ukitake appeared in front of all of them and absorbed its cero with one sword, and used the other sword to fire it back, utterly demolishing the gillian.

"Captain Ukitake, Captain Stark," Omaeda said holding a bleeding wound.

Stark counted all of the remaining gillian, commenting, "It doesn't seem like any more are coming out. My guess is that these are the last of 'em." He nodded to Lilynette, who understood what he meant, before warning, "You all might wanna get out of the way." With that he put his hand on Lilynette's head and absorbed her into himself. Not wasting anytime, he finished, "Kick, Los Lobos!"

Starks Resurreccion appeared as a surprise to everyone. He aimed his right pistol at all of the remaining gillian and stated, "Cero Metralleta!"

A barrage of ceros shot from his gun and hit the oncoming gillian in a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, all the gillian were vaporized under the strength of his attack. Stark sighed and returned back to his regular form, sending Lilynette shooting from his body to the floor.

"Amazing…" Soi Fon quietly said.

"We need to get the wounded to the 4th Division," Ukitake said. "Anyone who isn't wounded needs to help."

With that, the wounded group began its long trek to the 4th Division.

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Aizen and Gin were able to get near the center of Soul Society before they felt a presence approach them. They both stopped and Gin looked at Aizen saying, "What should we do?"

Aizen smiled and replied, "I believe it is time we revealed ourselves to our enemies."

As soon as he finished, Ichigo appeared in front of both of them, sword at the ready. He was surprised to say the least to see Aizen standing next to Gin. "What the…" was all he could mutter.

Aizen smiled at the young captain. "Hey there," he cheerfully greeted. "I didn't expect for you to be the first one here. And is that my old haori I see on you? Congratulations on taking my old position as captain."

Ichigo still didn't respond, he just kept staring in disbelief at the man he thought died ten years ago. Aizen waved a hand in front of his face and asked, "What's the problem? Have you nothing to say?"

Ichigo was about to open his mouth when he felt Stark, Ukitake, Yamamoto, and Kyoraku appear behind him.

"I told you it was a good idea to leave the group to get to the 4th Division themselves," Stark commented to Ukitake when he saw the two shinigami traitors.

"I guess you were right," Ukitake responded with a sigh. "I just didn't want to believe that this was real."

"Looks like the cavalry's arrived," Gin said. "Better wrap this up quick."

"Indeed…" Aizen said with a smile.

Yamamoto decided to be the first one to speak when he asked, "How are you still alive?"

"You make it sound like it was difficult," Aizen commented. "Have you all forgotten the power of my zanpakuto so quickly, the power to make you see something that wasn't real? I knew the battle was lost on that day and decided it was time to cut my losses and leave, so that's exactly what I did, making you believe otherwise."

"Crafty bastard," Kyoraku muttered under his breath.

"May we at least ask what your objective is this time?" Ukitake asked with sincerity.

"I guess it won't make much of a difference if you knew," Aizen replied with a sigh. "My goals are still the same as before. I wish to assassinate the King. The only difference is how I achieve this. My first step is to lay waste to all of Soul Society. That's all you need to know for now."

"You just tried that and failed," Stark said, remembering the mass of gillian attacking.

"Let's just call that a prelude to what is really going to happen, my dear Ex-Primera," Aizen smirked. "The real attack will be much more costly, I assure you."

"And you expect us to just standby and let you get away?" Kyoraku asked drawing his swords.

"Of course not," Aizen sighed. "Although I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice."

Before anyone could move, a Negacion beam shot down at both Gin and Aizen. "Damn!" Ukitake said, realizing what just happened.

As they drifted to the air, Aizen looked down and smile. "Now this reminds me of what happened all those years ago that I defected. Next time we meet shinigami, Soul Society will be demolished, I assure you."

When they disappeared, Yamamoto was quick to rap out orders. "We're having an emergency captains meeting. Go gather your fellow captains and lieutenants as quickly as possible."

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Vannan dodged yet another of Harribel's attacks. The high-speed water stream shot right past him and destroyed the closest wall. Vannan landed saying, "That looks like it woulda hurt if it hit me. I'd better be more careful."

Harribel snarled at the arrancar. She was at full strength using her best moves, yet he keeps dodging them like they were nothing. She would have to try something else. Using sonido she appeared behind her enemy, her sword raised over her head. She brought it down in a swift motion, causing a large crater where Vannan would have been if he hadn't dodged.

A deadly glint shined in Vannan's eyes as he went on the offensive, charging at her. She brought her sword up and quickly parried. Vannan smiled his biggest smile yet while their swords locked and said to her, "This is great! I haven't had such a battle in a while. Though it makes me a bit concerned…"

"Concerned?" repeated Harribel.

"Indeed, you see when I get into a good fight a part of me awakens that I'd prefer to keep hidden. I believe it's what you people call 'killing instinct'? Either way, it's never good when it comes out."

Harribel threw Vannan a few feet away from her. What was with this man? She had not felt a dread like this coming from someone since…

Before she could think any further, a Negacion beam shot down at Vannan. A relieved look appeared on his face as he stated, "Whew, that's good. I was afraid if this continued, something bad would have happened. Good thing our battle's postponed for now…"

While Vannan was leaving, Harribel disengaged her Resurreccion, returning all of her power to her blade again. She quickly buttoned up her shinigami outfit, just in time for Stark to arrive and not notice.

"What happened?" he asked with concern.

"I fought one of the arrancars," Harribel replied. "But he escaped through a Negacion beam."

"I see," Stark said quietly. "We need to go to an emergency captains meeting to find out what we should do next."

"Right…" Harribel quietly responded.

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"Captains Soi Fon and Komamura have been hospitalized along with three lieutenants, five seated officers along with several non-seated officers and countless civilians have been killed, and Rukon Districts 2-7 have been completely demolished," Mayuri Kurotsuchi stated, recounting the damage done by the invasion. "As well as several damaged buildings in Seireitei."

"What of the enemy losses?" Yamamoto asked.

"Several gillians were killed, and our own Izuru Kira was able to defeat Arrancar number four, Yuka Feron. Taking into consideration that Gin was able to escape and join them, they lost nothing significant."

"We should have seen this coming," Ukitake commented. "Aizen even said this was just a prelude to what is going to happen. He plans on destroying all of Soul Society next."

Yamamoto slammed his cane down on the ground and ordered, "We must strengthen our own defenses and be prepared for what's going to come. I want all of the civilians evacuated to someplace safe and I want guards posted everywhere and constantly on lookout. Aizen is crafty, who knows what he will try to do next. No matter what happens, we must stop him; that is why the Gotei 13 exists."

"Yes sir!" everyone in the room answered at the same time.

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Aizen, Gin, and Vannan had just returned to their hideout in Hueco Mundo. Without wasting any time, they went straight to Grimmjow's room. When they entered, they saw Grimmjow training vigorously. All three patiently waited until he noticed their presence. When he saw Aizen without the mask he smiled and asked, "Finally showed yourself huh?"

Aizen matched his smile and replied, "Indeed. And now that I've done this you know what's going to happen next right."

"About time is all I gotta say," Grimmjow commented.

Aizen turned to Vannan and ordered, "Go get Stren and Tyreon and gather in the throne room. I need to address them."

"Of course," Vannan said while leaving the room.

Aizen turned back to Grimmjow and Gin and finished, "The time is soon, my friends. Soon all of our goals will be accomplished."

The two nodded as they left Grimmjow's room for the throne room.

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Stren, Tyreon, and Vannan entered the throne room to see Aizen seated while being flanked by Gin and Grimmjow. "What's going on here?" Tyreon asked with surprise. "Where's Enzai and Yuka?"

"I'm afraid Yuka's dead, and I am Enzai," Aizen replied. "Forgive me all for fooling you, but it was necessary that you all not know who I was before now."

"And who exactly are you?" asked Stren with curiosity in his voice.

"I am Sosuke Aizen," the traitorous shinigami stated.

"Aizen!" both arrancar said at the same time.

"It appears my reputation proceeds me," Aizen said with a smile. "All this time I have been the leader, while making Grimmjow my mouthpiece so it seemed like he was calling the shots."

"Why would you do that?" Stren inquired.

"Up until just recently, those shinigami fools thought I was dead. It was necessary that they think I was dead while giving orders here, so I made it look like Grimmjow was leading the group so as not to arouse suspicion. But the time for hiding is over, so now I really am the leader and everyone knows it. Now that that's out of the way, I would like to give you all the details about our next move."

"Next move?" asked Tyreon.

A slow smirk appeared on Aizen's face as he replied, "The destruction of Soul Society…"

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**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **I have yet to get a single review and would greatly appreciate it if someone had something to say on it.


	15. Preparations

Preparations are being made for the attack to come. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**15: Preparations**

Stark was having a fine dream that day. He was the only person alone in a large room, and at the center of the room was a very inviting bed. He sat in it to see how comfy it was, and after several bounces, decided it was a fine bed to sleep in. Stark's dream was interrupted, however, when he heard a loud nagging voice.

"Stark, wake up!"

Stark's eyes shot open. He lazily looked to the left and right of him and saw it was just a dream, and he was back in his boring room at boring Soul Society. He looked upward to see the angered face of Lilynette, staring at him. "It's about time you started to—" she started, but was interrupted when Stark closed his eyes and started snoring again. "—hey, wake your lazy ass up!"

Stark regretfully opened his eyes again, and sleepily asked, "What do you want?"

"How the hell can you act so calm when we're in a state of high alert?!" Lilynette asked with a vein clearly visible on her forehead.

"I just got relieved from guard duty an hour ago," Stark stated. "What's the problem?"

"That is the problem!" Lilynette replied. "You shouldn't be able to sleep so easily when we're in high alert, even if you don't have to do anything."

"Give me a break…" Stark said rolling away from her to try and get back to his dream with the comfy bed.

Anger was stamped on Lilynette's face as she kicked him in his back, making him grunt in pain. Not letting up, she jumped on top of him and started punching his chest. It didn't hurt much, but it certainly stopped him from sleeping. After several barrages he grabbed her and threw her off the bed.

"Get the hell away from me demon girl," was all he said.

"Nuh-uh! There's no way you're sleeping while everyone else is on edge!"

Stark sighed. Why didn't he just seal his powers into a regular sword like everyone else, instead of this annoying brat. "What do you want from me?" he asked.

"I just don't wanna be left alone at such a scary time, I mean, since Harribel is on guard duty…" Lilynette said with honesty.

Stark couldn't help but smile at this as he slowly sat up. "Stupid girl," he said. "Why didn't you just say so from the beginning?"

"Huh?" was all she could manage to say.

He patted her on the head and finished with a smile, "Why don't we go take a walk? That always calms you down."

Lilynette turned her face away from Stark so she didn't show him the emotion on her face, and simply nodded.

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"What's their condition?" Ukitake asked Unohana and Kiyone with earnest curiosity.

"I don't think Captain Komamura and Captain Soi Fon will be able to leave anytime soon," Unohana replied looking at the ground. "They fought against the gillians the longest and have some very bad wounds."

"I see," Ukitake said solemnly. "And what of the injured lieutenants?"

"Lieutenant Iba and Lieutenant Omaeda also won't be going anywhere soon," Kiyone answered. "However, Lieutenant Matsumoto was just discharged and should be fine."

"Down two captains and lieutenants, eh?" Ukitake said quietly to himself. "We can't afford to take our enemies lightly this time."

Ichigo suddenly walked in, causing Ukitake to look. "Oh, Kurosaki-kun, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on guard duty?"

"No, I just got relieved," Ichigo replied looking around the room. "And I'm here to see Rukia. Where is she?"

"I'm right here," Ichigo heard a voice say behind him.

Ichigo jumped a bit from the surprise, but turned around and saw Rukia. "Why are you up? Shouldn't you be recovering?"

"I'm all healed," she replied with boredom on her face. "It's not like my wounds were that bad."

"Sure didn't seem that way when I dragged you back from Hueco Mundo," Ichigo said in a joking tone. "Seemed like you were gonna die if you didn't get help quick."

Rukia looked at the ground and simply replied, "Idiot…"

"Don't act so cold," Ichigo said rubbing the top of her head. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Ukitake, Unohana, and Kiyone smiled at this, but it quickly faded when Ichigo grabbed Rukia by the arm and started dragging her out finishing, "Now it's time to get back to work. Don't expect to get it easy because you just got discharged from the hospital."

When they left, Ukitake said, "I think you're being a bit rough Kurosaki-kun…"

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"Does everyone understand what to do?" Aizen asked after he explained his plan.

"You make it sound like we have a difficult task," Vannan said with a wide mock smile. "All we have to do is attack in secret while the distraction's goin' down in Soul Society, nothing too difficult about that."

"True enough," Aizen smiled, "and I have the utmost confidence in all of you. After all, that's why I didn't make more arrancar to begin with; all I needed were a few trustworthy ones. It is unfortunate about the untimely demise of Yuka, but I believe with the addition of Gin we can manage somehow."

"Well then, if all of you will please leave and get prepared for the battle to come," Aizen said, looking down at the three arrancar.

All the arrancar left, including Grimmjow, and Aizen was left to converse with Gin. "So you really think that this whole thing will work?" asked the former 3rd Division Captain. "Cause our last attack with the Espada didn't work out too well."

"I'm aware Gin," Aizen bluntly responded, "but these arrancar match the top Espada in strength, plus a direct attack on Soul Society will work out fine. Besides, once we obliterate Soul Society, we can make the Oken at our leisure, not having to worry about enemies trying to attack us."

"True enough," Gin said. "And if we lose a few arrancar in the process?"

"They're expendable," Aizen coldly replied.

"Cruel man," Gin commented with a smile.

"Having such a conversation right now is pointless," Aizen said while getting up from his chair. He looked at Gin and finished, "Well, shall we go get our fellow arrancar?"

"Of course."

When they exited the throne room, Vannan was just passing by. He saw them and happily said, "That was pretty short for a meetin'. What'd you talk about?"

Gin matched his smile and replied, "Nothin' important I assure you. I trust you're all prepared then?"

"Of course, but you can't blame me for calling you a liar."

"What do you mean?" Gin inquired.

"Nothin', it's just that I have pretty sensitive hearing and can't help but overhear some conversations," Vannan answered.

The two stared at each other for a while, a wide smile plastered on both their faces. After several seconds they both let out a hearty laugh. "I have a feelin' we're gonna get along great," Gin said patting Vannan on the back.

"I feel the same way…"

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Shunsui Kyoraku drained another cup of sake fairly quickly. "Now that hits the spot!"

"Maybe you should take it easy," Ukitake said. "You can't get drunk on guard duty…"

"Who says I'm gonna get drunk?" Shunsui asked. "You should have some yourself to loosen up."

"No thank you," Ukitake said with a sigh.

"Your loss," Kyoraku said downing another cup. He noticed Stark walking with Lilynette and waved toward them. "Hey, Stark, come over and have a drink with us."

"What do you mean us?" Ukitake asked.

"Sorry, can't," Stark said pointing to Lilynette. "We're just takin' a walk."

"Why you gotta be like that?" Kyoraku asked with disappointment on his face. "Ukitake here won't lighten up and share a drink with me."

Stark was about to answer he felt a presence enter Soul Society. "What is it?" Ukitake asked.

"It's the arrancar, they used the garganta to enter Soul Society."

"What?" Kyoraku and Ukitake said at the same time.

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Aizen held the Gillian Whistle in his hand and said to himself, "I hope this will work. Here goes nothing."

He blew on the whistle and a shrieking noise came from it. Everyone covered their ears at the noise. "Not the most pleasant to listen to," Vannan commented. "It better work now."

"See for yourself," Aizen said with a smile.

Behind the group, a large garganta appeared and a large single eye shone through it. "Better step back," Gin warned, which everyone happily did.

Surrounded by gillian, the large hollow nicknamed Superchunky brought his hands to the solid earth and let out an unearthly roar. Soon, everyone in Soul Society looked at the monstrosity that had been brought before them.

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The invasion begins!

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	16. Night of Shattered Fates

Chaos ensues as the arrancar scatter across Soul Society. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**16: Night of Shattered Fates**

"Magnificent," Aizen simply said when seeing the sheer size of Superchunky. "Truly he is the King of all Hollows."

"I still think he's kinda creepy," Gin commented.

Aizen ignored that comment and turned to his arrancar soldiers. "Scatter," he commanded. "And don't let anyone see you."

All four arrancar nodded and disappeared into separate areas. Gin smiled at Aizen and said, "You know Grimmjow's not gonna give a damn about your order and will just go after Kurosaki."

"I know," Aizen replied. He looked up at the night sky and finished, "Either way, it all works out in the end." He turned towards Gin and said, "Now I believe we both have our separate tasks as well?"

"We sure do," Gin replied with a smile.

They both then ran towards their enemy's base, leaving Superchunky on his own.

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Ichigo caught sight of Superchunky and asked Rukia, "What the hell is that?"

"It looks like a giant hollow," Rukia said still staring at it. "Either way, it can't be good. We need to go and take it out before it causes a lot of harm."

"Right," Ichigo said drawing Zangetsu. "Let's go and—"

He was cut off when he saw Grimmjow appear in front of him. "Where do you think you're goin'?" he asked the two shinigami.

"An arrancar!" Ichigo said while striking up a battle position.

"Did you really forget who I am?" Grimmjow asked with a smile on his face. "Come on Kurosaki, try and remember."

"Grimmjow?" asked an unsure Ichigo.

Grimmjow quickly drew his sword and struck Ichigo, who parried it. While both their swords clashed, he replied, "Bingo! That took you long enough. It seems like you've gotten comfortable living here. I hope you haven't forgotten how to fight."

"It only took a while because you look different," Ichigo said, "and of course I haven't forgotten how to fight, but you'll find that out soon enough."

Grimmjow jumped back from their locked stance and smiled. "That's good, 'cause I'm ready for a rematch!"

"You're still just angry that I beat you last time," Ichigo stated with a smile. He then turned to Rukia and said, "I'll handle him. You go and stop that huge hollow."

"You sure you'll be fine?" asked a concerned Rukia.

Ichigo turned back to Grimmjow and replied, "Don't worry about me. Now go!"

Rukia nodded and took off towards Superchunky. After she left Ichigo asked, "Why'd you let her go so easily?"

Grimmjow replied with a laugh, followed by saying, "Why wouldn't I? I don't care about her; all I care about is killing you!"

Ichigo smiled as he threw off his captain's haori. "Well that's good to know, but be warned, you won't get off so easy this time."

"Like I'd want it any other way," his adversary said with a smile.

Without another word, they rushed at each other again.

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Ukitake, Kyoraku, Stark, and Lilynette were running in the streets. "Come on," Ukitake urged, "we have to go warn the Captain-General!"

"We know," Kyoraku said. "But I bet Ol' Yama's already prepared a counter-offensive to this. I doubt he needs us."

"Either way," Ukitake replied, "we need to know how we should handle this situation, so let's hurry."

Their running was suddenly stopped when the wall to the side of them collapsed as fire shot through it. "What the hell?" Stark asked with confusion.

Vannan walked through the hole saying, "Whew, maybe I overdid it a little." He looked at the three captains and waved, finishing, "Hi there."

"Who the hell are you?!" Ukitake asked in an angry manner.

"Me?" Vannan asked. "Why I'm Vannan Skype, one of the arrancars, but you can call me Van."

"Should an arrancar be so calm about this?" Ukitake said in a depressing tone.

Kyoraku put his hand on Ukitake's shoulder and said, "Listen Van, I know we're enemies, but we're kinda in a hurry, so would you mind lettin' us pass?"

Vannan smiled at this and replied, "While I'm happy that you actually called me Van, I'm afraid I can't do such a thing, for my orders were to find and attack as many captains as possible, and I think three warrants a good number, don't you think?"

"Is that so?" Kyoraku said with disappointment in his voice. "I guess there's no other way around it, we need to draw our swords."

All three captains drew their swords in preparation. He turned to Lilynette and said, "Stand back a bit. This is gonna get rough."

Lilynette understood the danger and stepped back several feet. Stark then pointed to his adversary and asked, "Can you at least tell us your rank?"

"Oh, why worry about something so trivial?" asked Vannan. "Besides, I'm sure you'll be able to guess it soon enough."

"You're gonna be a handful," Stark said with a sigh. "Not that it can be helped."

"My thoughts exactly," Vannan replied with a large smile.

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Kenpachi Zaraki had a large grin on his face. "I haven't felt this way in a long time!" he said to his lieutenant Yachiru, who was riding on his back.

"Yay, Ken-chan!" she happily replied.

"I'm gettin' a good feelin' about that gigantic hollow. I bet he's seen his fair share of fights."

After a few seconds of silence, Yachiru sensed something and warned, "Ken-chan…"

"I know," Kenpachi replied.

He suddenly jumped back as Stren jumped from the roof with his sword ready. Kenpachi would have been split in half if that blow had connected, which was evident by the large crack in the floor it left. Stren looked at him and said, "Pretty good for a captain. Better reflexes than I thought, and just when I was thinkin' I was getting pretty good at hiding my spiritual pressure."

"It was flawless," Kenpachi said. "But I didn't know you were there because I sensed your spiritual pressure. I knew you were there because of the presence you exhumed. The presence of someone who's been in several life-and-death battles. Someone just like me."

Stren smiled at this statement and simply replied, "Indeed."

"Well since you made the first attack, I guess we got no choice but to fight," Kenpachi said while drawing his sword. He turned to Yachiru and finished, "Step back."

Yachiru smiled and jumped to the closest roof while cheering, "Go Ken-chan, yay!"

"How 'bout you tell me your name first arrancar," Kenpachi said.

"Arrancar number three, Stren Regen," he replied. "And how about you captain?"

"I'm the 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki," the shinigami replied. "And I'm hoping we have a good fight."

Stren once again smiled and replied, "As do I…"

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Tyreon was tired of looking around. He wandered the streets for a while and found no one around. "_I guess this is what I get for choosing the back streets_," he thought to himself. With anger he smashed his fist against the wall. "_Guess I need to go somewhere else_…"

"And here I thought you arrancar had some subtlety," Tyreon heard a voice behind him say. He looked behind him to see Captain Byakuya Kuchiki standing there. "You seem different from the rest, not that it matters," he finished.

"And who would you be?" Tyreon asked.

"6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki," he responded.

"I'm arrancar number five, Tyreon Demargo."

"Five doesn't seem like a particularly high number," Byakuya responded. "But then again, seven didn't either," he finished while remembering his battle with Zommari.

"You seem like the kind of person I hate the most," Tyreon remarked.

"Which would be?" Byakuya asked while raising an eyebrow.

"The kind of person who is arrogant and believes they can do anything."

"While I'm normally not that kind of person," Byakuya started, "I only give off that kind of attitude with you because I know I can beat you."

"Presumptuous bastard," Tyreon said with a scowl. "The only way to find that out is to fight!"

"Then by all means," Byakuya said, drawing his sword, "the first move is yours…"

"You're gonna regret ever messin' with me!" Tyreon said, taking his large blade off of his back.

Angry eyes stared into calm ones as they both struck at the same time.

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Captain-General Yamamoto sat on his chair with apprehension. He had delivered his orders to be sent out to all of the captains. Now all he could do was wait until he found out the turn of events that would unfold. He sighed and thought to himself, "_Why are all kids so damn difficult?_"

He suddenly heard a knock on his door. Knowing who it was, he said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Aizen and Gin. Yamamoto didn't seem surprised by their presence and simply asked, "What is it you want?"

"I guess the simplest terms would be revenge," Aizen stated while walking in. "Of course this is all a part of my plan anyway."

"You're the most childish person I've met in my life," Yamamoto bluntly stated. "But it appears we must cross swords yet again."

"And I'm afraid this time I won't go easy on you," Aizen replied with a smile. "Now stand Captain-General, and face your judgment."

"What happened to the cold calculating Aizen in the past? You seem more eager to kill…more bloodthirsty."

"Let's just say these past ten years have changed me," Aizen replied. "Now stand."

"Very well kid," Yamamoto said getting up from his seat and grabbing his cane. "I guess it's up to me to finish you off for good."

Before they had a chance to strike, Captain Hitsugaya and his lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto. He stopped immediately upon seeing Aizen and stammered, "What the hell?"

"Well hello there Hitsugaya-kun," Aizen said with a small wave. "How unfortunate that you walked in on this. And just when I was hoping that you'd be the last one alive. I always did like you."

"Cut the crap!" Hitsugaya said putting his hand on his sword handle.

"Gin," Aizen said motioning outside. "Take care of them."

"Sure thing," Gin said with a smile. He walked in front of the two and finished, "We should probably take this outside."

"Captain…" Matsumoto said quietly.

"Fine," Hitsugaya stated. "But we'll finish you quickly and come back for Aizen."

"Fine by me," Gin replied. "_If_ you can finish me off."

With that, all three disappeared from the room, leaving Aizen and Yamamoto alone. Aizen turned back to his adversary and drew his sword, saying, "Now then, shall we begin?"

"I thought you would have learned your lesson last time," Yamamoto said, disintegrating the cane to reveal his sword. "But I guess not! I'll see to it personally that you get incinerated to ash."

"If you can, then by all means," Aizen said.

After several seconds of staring, they both moved at the same time, clashing with each other's blades.

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All the matches are decided. Who will come out victorious?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	17. Stampede the Antagonist

Byakuya squares off against Tyreon. Who will win? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**17: Stampede the Antagonist**

Almost as quickly as Tyreon and Byakuya's blades met, they separated, both men having jumped back. Not a second had passed when Tyreon used sonido to get behind Byakuya, his blade high above his head, hoping to cleave his enemy in half. Byakuya calmly turned around and pointed his finger at Tyreon, stating, "Hado 4: Byakuria."

A white blast of concentrated energy shot from Byakuya's finger. It would have impaled Tyreon's chest had he not saw the danger and used sonido to escape. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, Tyreon quickly shot a Bala at Byakuya, hoping to catch him off guard. When the smoke cleared he saw nothing was left. Smiling to himself, Tyreon let out a large laugh, but it was quickly cut off when he saw Byakuya above him, blade poised to strike.

The blade flashed down on the arrancar as he tried to get away from the strike. Blood dripped from Tyreon's wound on his cheek as he looked up at his adversary. "Out of that little bout, I'm the only one who came out uninjured," Byakuya said. "What does that tell you about our skill level?"

"That doesn't mean shit!" Tyreon yelled with anger in his voice.

He quickly used sonido to appear right in front of Byakuya. He swung his sword sideways in hope to cut him in two, but Byakuya quickly jumped to avoid the oncoming blade. Using his momentum, the shinigami swung his sword at Tyreon's head, but he quickly reacted and blocked the blade with his arm. Tyreon smiled as he thrust his blade at Byakuya's chest. Using his quick reflexes, Byakuya turned his body to the side, getting only a glancing blow on his ribs.

The 6th Division Captain landed as the 5th arrancar jumped back. He saw blood coming from Byakuya's wounds and laughed at it. "I told you it didn't mean shit! Now look who's the injured one!"

Byakuya sighed as he was suddenly behind the laughing Tyreon. With a look of surprise on his face, Tyreon turned back to his adversary, who didn't both looking back at him, and Tyreon heard, "If you get so excited about getting such a little wound, you should at least keep your guard up, unless you want to make it easy for your enemy."

"What?" Tyreon asked with confusion.

The arrancar soon understood what Byakuya meant when he felt extreme pain in his right shoulder as blood erupted from it. He gave a scream of pain as Byakuya still didn't bother to look at his enemy as he finished, "And while I'm at it, I might as well show you what it's like to face someone who has the power to break through any defense anyway." He held his sword in front of him and declared, "Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The blade grew white and started to scatter into tiny pieces. Tyreon turned around and asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

When the hilt was all that remained on his sword, Byakuya simply stated with closed eyes, "I suggest you make your hierro as strong as possible right now." He then swung the remains of his sword in a downward motion at Tyreon.

Still in confusion, Tyreon asked, "What do you mea—"

He was cut off as thousands of tiny blade fragments moved in on him and slashed every part of his body. He wasn't even allowed to scream as blood flew from every wound he received. Still standing, he just stared at the ground. Byakuya opened his eyes as he saw this and commented, "You should be thankful that you're not unrecognizable after that attack. I guess your hierro's stronger than I thought."

Tyreon still stared at the ground as he started to mutter, "T-T-T…THERE'S NO WAY I'M GONNA GET KILLED LIKE THAT!"

He suddenly looked up and grabbed his blade with both hands and brought his hands up next to his head while aiming the blade at the shinigami. Through all the blood he yelled, "STAMPEDE RINOCERONTE (Rhinoceros)!"

Tyreon got on his hands and knees as his large blade suddenly started melting away and plastered itself on his skin. Once the entire sword was gone, he took the form of a rhino, complete with a much bigger version of his hollow horn and a massive swishing tail. His entire body was covered from head to toe as his mask returned to its original form of a rhino head. He now stood on all fours and the only part of his original head that could be seen was his eyes, which shone through the mask. Tyreon gave a smile and said, "Good thing my Resurreccion heals my wounds, or I'd be too wounded to fight right now."

"Indeed…" Byakuya replied.

Tyreon lowered his head and warned, "Here I come. Beware, for my attack power is much greater than it was before."

With another smile, Tyreon stampeded towards his enemy. Byakuya saw that his speed increased as he swung his sword hilt at the released arrancar. All of the blade fragments of Senbonzakura rushed at Tyreon and attempted to slash him. Surprise showed on Byakuya's face as he saw that his blades did nothing to Tyreon's skin, and simply bounced off.

Not being taken by surprise, Byakuya quickly recited, "Bakudo 81: Danku!"

A large wall appeared in front of Byakuya to shield him from the attack. Tyreon smirked as he smashed through the barrier and continued barreling towards Byakuya. Not given much time, Byakuya hopped to the side, but suffered a deep gash on his left side. He held it as Tyreon stopped and laughed. "You think a kido spell like that could stop my attack? Whenever I charge at my enemy, almost nothing can stop it!"

"Well that's going to be a problem…" Byakuya replied as he started to reform his blade.

Before he knew it, Tyreon was already rushing at him again. Before the shinigami could react, Tyreon was already next to him. Not wasting another second, Tyreon swung his enormous head at his enemy, sending Byakuya flying into a wall. The impact was so great the wall crumbled where he landed.

Tyreon laughed again and finished Byakuya's sentence. "You're right; it is going to be a problem…for you."

While laughing Tyreon felt Byakuya's presence right above him. Byakuya pointed his hand at the arrancar and said, "Hado 63: Raikoho!"

A large yellow energy blast shot from his hand right onto Tyreon. Byakuya landed in front of the large smoke cloud and said to himself, "Now let's see what happens."

Much to the captain's surprise, Tyreon charged out of the smoke unharmed. He was about to impale Byakuya when he jumped and landed behind the arrancar, sending him into a wall. "You think that's gonna stop me?" Tyreon asked his adversary behind him.

Before Byakuya could answer, Tyreon's massive tail smashed Byakuya in his stomach, winding him and sending him several feet back.

Tyreon pulled his head out of the wall which crumbled as soon as he left. He turned towards his enemy and asked, "Is this all it takes to kill you? You disappoint me captain."

Byakuya let go of his wounded stomach and said, "It appears kido is useless against you."

"It is," Tyreon reaffirmed.

"Then I guess I have no choice," Byakuya stated while pointing his sword to the ground. He dropped it and said, "Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

When he said those words, his blade phased into the ground in the shape of a small pool of water; the surrounding area got dark and two rows of large blades appeared beside him. Seconds after they appeared, the blades disintegrated into thousands of tiny fragments.

Tyreon stared at this and could only say, "Magnificent…What a fantastic Bankai. I look forward to seeing what it can do!"

"Is that so?" Byakuya calmly said. "Well then by all means, I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

"By all means I can help myself," Tyreon said with a grin as he started charging an enormous cero on the tip of his horn. Without any warning, he shot it at his adversary.

Byakuya closed his eyes as the thousands of blade fragments appeared as a shield in front of him, taking the cero head on. Tyreon laughed at this and said, "Fantastic! You could stop my release mode cero so easily. This is gonna get interesting!"

"I agree," Byakuya replied. "It should be interesting to see how you can handle this. Gokei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

On command, the countless blades started surrounding Tyreon in a spherical form. Tyreon looked and saw that he was surrounded by all of the blades. Tyreon laughed like a maniac and yelled, "Superb! I wonder how I'm gonna get outta this one hahahahahaha!"

Without a seconds warning, all the blades rushed in at the arrancar at every possible angle. The shockwave of this attack destroyed every possible wall in the vicinity, leaving a barren area where the blades were swirling. While the smoke of the attack was clearing, Byakuya quietly said, "Now this should clear things up."

The smoke finally cleared to reveal Tyreon standing there, with small cuts all over his body, but hardly any damage at all. Byakuya just stared in disbelief. Without gracing the shinigami with words, Tyreon charged at immeasurable speed at Byakuya and was able to impale his right shoulder with his horn. This pain snapped Byakuya out of his disbelief as he reacted quickly saying, "Bakudo 21: Sekienton!"

A small red blast hit Tyreon in his face, causing him to pull back as red smoke covered his eyes. Byakuya coughed up blood from this attack and held his impaled shoulder in extreme pain. "Now who's the one having a tough time?" Tyreon asked in a mocking tone.

"That last attack confirmed it," Byakuya said. "Your release mode drastically increases your hierro."

"That's right," Tyreon replied. "The greatest thing my Resurreccion grants me is not attack power or speed, but defense, clearly evident by the fact that all of those blades didn't sever me on the spot. However it is quite a feat to scratch me in this mode, so I applaud you."

"Spare me your thanks," Byakuya said, "I have no need for them."

"Does that mean you've given up then?" asked a curious Tyreon.

"On the contrary," Byakuya said. "I now know what I have to do to defeat you."

Tyreon laughed at this statement and replied, "Well by all means then, show me."

"If that's what you desire, I'll finish you in one blow." He then declared, "Shukei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

With that command all of the blade fragments condense into a single white-light blade that went into Byakuya's hand. Along with the blade, two large white wings and a halo appeared behind Byakuya. Sensing the spiritual pressure, Tyreon gave his largest laugh yet. "Absolutely remarkable! Your Bankai has so many forms, it's almost perfect! Too bad I'll end this with the next strike."

"If that's what you think, then charge at me with all your might, and I will do the same," Byakuya taunted.

Tyreon lowered his head and responded, "Very well. May the best man win on this next strike!"

Sensing when, both charged at the same time. It was over in a flash as both appeared on the opposite side they started on. A large gash appeared across Byakuya's chest as he dropped his blade, coughing up blood. Tyreon sensed this and quietly said, "Well fought captain, but I am the victor her—"

He was cut off as a large crack started forming in the middle of his head. It grew until it went down his entire body. "What the…" was all he could stammer before he split in two.

Byakuya smiled and gave his last words to the arrancar. "It appears my Bankai was stronger than your hierro. Better luck next time arrancar."

Tyreon disappeared when both his halves hit the ground. Seconds after he disappeared, Byakuya fell to the ground in a heap, losing consciousness with every second.

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Byakuya is victorious, but will all the remaining shinigami be so lucky?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	18. Howl of the Predator

Ferocious Kenpachi faces off against Calm Stren. Who will be victorious? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**18: Howl of the Predator**

The biggest smile was on Kenpachi's face when Stren scored his first hit on him, causing a light wound. Not letting up, Stren caused a wound on Kenpachi's shoulder and was able to lightly cut his leg. The smile on Kenpachi's face concerned Stren so much he jumped back and was inclined to ask, "What's wrong with you? Why the hell are you smiling right now?"

After several seconds, Stren asked, "Hey, you hear me…?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" Kenpachi's laughter rang loud and clear, causing a feeling of dread to the arrancar.

"What's wrong with you?" Stren asked after regaining his composure. "Why the sudden outburst of laughter?"

"Sorry," Kenpachi replied while keeping a smile. "I was just laughing because I can already tell this is gonna be a great fight! You've already scored three hits on me and I can tell you're no amateur. That's why I was laughing."

"I see," Stren said readying his sword. "So now that you've evaluated me, it's safe to assume you're going to start fighting back now?"

Kenpachi swept his sword across the floor before bringing it up. He smiled at his enemy and stated, "Now it's my turn."

Kenpachi rushed at Stren without warning. He got over the shock quickly and hopped to the side, barely dodging Kenpachi's ferocious strike. The strike was so powerful the wall his sword hit crumbled upon contact. Stren knew the shinigami was dangerous and decided to be cautious. He quickly shot a Bala at Kenpachi, who simply responded by lifting his sword up and cutting it before it hit him, utterly dissipating the attack.

"_Being able to cut a Bala like that is no easy feat_," Stren thought to himself. "_Looks like I'll have to get serious!_"

Before Stren could think any further, Kenpachi was on him, thrusting his sword towards his head. Stren quickly turned his body and got by with a large bleeding cut on his cheek. Stren quickly dropped his sword and charged a cero in his hand.

"Cero!" he exclaimed as he shot it at Kenpachi.

The blast hit him head on as Stren stepped back and used his other hand to charge another one. Without calling its name he shot it at the smoky target. Before the smoke even cleared, Stren's sword flew towards him and landed in the ground just before his feet. He looked to see Kenpachi completely unharmed.

"If you don't have your sword this won't be a fun fight at all," he cautioned. "It's best not to drop such a thing."

Stren lifted his sword off of the ground and monotonously said, "Thanks for the advice. But if I may, did those two ceros hit you?"

Kenpachi smiled. "What're you an idiot? Of course they did. They hurt too, but that's neither here nor there. Now get ready to defend yourself."

"Fair enough," Stren flatly stated readying his sword.

Before Kenpachi knew it Stren was at his side, thrusting his sword at him. Kenpachi quickly brought his arm up and stopped it, causing his arm to bleed in the process. While Stren was open, Kenpachi quickly kicked him in his chest, sending him flying into the wall. While Stren was recovering, Kenpachi was already on him, stabbing him in his right shoulder. Stren looked calm as he grabbed Kenpachi's sword with one arm and used the other to slash him across his chest. While Kenpachi faltered for a second, he used the same arm to smash him across the side of his head, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Stren pulled the sword out of his shoulder and tossed it the fallen shinigami. "I suggest you don't underestimate me, even if you are this strong," he warned. "It makes you seem arrogant."

"Arrogant?" Kenpachi replied while slowly standing up. "Is that how it seems? I just wanted to see how strong your slash was; that's all."

"You'd take a hit just for that?"

Kenpachi grabbed his sword and grinned. "Of course I would. After all, what good is a short fight?"

"Your words make little sense to me," Stren commented. "I will never understand battle-junkies such as you."

"I don't need you to understand. I just need you to fight."

Those words sent another shiver down Stren's spine. He quickly got over it and replied, "Very well, I suppose if that's what you want, I will happily oblige."

They both charged at each other and locked blades. Stren's calm face stared into Kenpachi's smiling one. Without warning, Stren brought his head crashing onto Kenpachi's, causing him to step back for a second. While this happened, Stren quickly punched Kenpachi in his stomach, winding him for a second. While Kenpachi was holding his stomach, Stren grabbed his throat and squeezed. After several seconds, Kenpachi stared straight into Stren's eyes and used his sword to slash across the arrancars chest, causing him to drop the shinigami.

"You okay Ken-chan?" Yachiru asked from the roof of a close building.

"Don't worry about me," Kenpachi replied. "I can handle him on my own."

"Saying such things even though it's clear who's winning," Stren said. "It appears you have more than arrogance, it is just plain stupidity."

"Mock all you want," Kenpachi chided, "it won't make you any stronger."

"Yet I'm still strong enough to defeat you."

"If you think so, why don't you try and finish me off?" baited Kenpachi with a smile.

Something about that comment irked Stren's usually calm nature. "If you so desire it, I will happily grant it!"

His sword dematerialized and surrounded both of his hands, taking the form of animal paws. "Ho, don't tell me that's your release mode," Kenpachi said after seeing this.

"Hardly," Stren smirked. "The more powerful of arrancar have unique abilities according to our character. In layman's terms, you could say it's a shikai. Speaking of which, why don't you release your sword as well?"

"Afraid I can't," Kenpachi replied. "While I'm trying to, I don't quite know my sword's name yet."

Stren smiled at this and commented, "In other words, you can't even perform a Bankai. How sad!"

He appeared behind Kenpachi without warning. Before Kenpachi could completely turn around, Stren dealt him a heavy blow to his head, sending him several feet back. "How did someone like you ever become a captain?" he asked with his usual calm voice.

Before Kenpachi could even answer, Stren was on him again and raked him across his chest with his newly formed claws. Stren didn't let up on his barrage. As Kenpachi staggered back, he grabbed his shoulder and sunk his claws into it, causing blood to spray wildly. Kenpachi gritted his teeth and swung his sword, which Stren quickly jumped back to avoid.

"Even now does your arrogance get the better of you?" Stren mockingly asked. "Even with all of these wounds do you still think you can win?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kenpachi smiled. "All these wounds are nothing more than a small price to pay for a good fight. I wouldn't want it any other way."

"It appears you've lost your mind," Stren said. "If that's what you wish, I will put you out of your misery."

He appeared in front of the shinigami and swung his right claw down on Kenpachi's head and his left claw towards his torso. The shinigami quickly blocked his right claw with his sword and used his left hand to grab Stren's claw and held it there. They stared at each other in this deadlock, as Stren noticed Kenpachi's spiritual pressure was rising.

"What the hell…What's with this spiritual pressure you're exerting? Are you telling me you had this much power in reserve."

"Of course idiot," Kenpachi replied. "This is just how I do things. If I go all out at the beginning then I end fights too quickly, and that's never fun."

Stren brought his head down on Kenpachi, who responded in similar. Both their heads met at the center. After several seconds blood started spraying from Stren's head as he staggered back in pain. Blood flowed down his face as he started breathing heavily.

"How is this possible? Why would you hold back such power?" asked the arrancar.

"I already told you, I don't like fights that end quickly."

"Don't you know it's insulting to a warrior to hold back your power?"

"I don't care about anything like that," Kenpachi bluntly stated. His hand started to hover towards his head as he finished, "But since you seem so keen on it, I will show you the true extent of my power."

He quickly ripped off his eye patch revealing his vast spiritual power. This energy unnerved Stren as he asked, "W-What the hell is this? Why does this happen when your take off that eye patch?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Kenpachi annoyingly stated. "But if you really wanna know, this eye patch is designed to constantly suck away at my energy. It's a good way to make sure I don't kill my opponent's too quickly." He held both arms out at his side and offered, "I'll give you one free hit. You'd better make it a good one."

Stren scowled at this but easily obliged, rushing towards his enemy with his claws ready. With all his might he thrust his right paw right at Kenpachi's heart. Pain shot through Stren's arm as he seemingly bounced off of Kenpachi's chest, giving him no injuries at all."

"Tch, guess that's all I could expect," Kenpachi boringly stated.

Without any warning, Kenpachi brought his sword crashing down across Stren's chest. Blood sprayed willingly as the wound opened up. Stren gave a scream of pain as he hopped back holding his chest.

"It's impossible; you can't be this strong…" Stren stated. "I'm not gonna lose to someone like you, that's for sure!"

"Now who's on the losing end?" Kenpachi mockingly asked. "If you wanna get even, why don't you release against me?"

"Ken-chan, can you hurry this up, I wanna see other fights," Yachiru complained out of the blue.

"Shut up Yachiru," Kenpachi replied, not even bothering to look at her. "I wanna see how strong his release mode is; maybe this fight'll get more interesting if he does."

Surprisingly, Stren just smile at this statement. "A true battle-junkie through and through, huh? Very well, I will show you my full power."

"Good to know…"

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What is Stren's release? Will it help him against his fight against Kenpachi?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	19. Blunt of the Prey

Things get messy as Stren shows his Resurreccion. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**19: Blunt of the Prey**

"I feel I must warn you," Stren warned the shinigami. "I was ranked the third because of how much my power increases when I release. Your power is truly great, but I believe I can match it."

"Blah blah, you sure are noisy," Kenpachi replied. "Don't tell me about it, just show me."

Stren smirked as he clapped his two paws together as if he was in prayer. "Soon you will see the futility of it all. Blunt, Tejón (Badger)!"

His two paws were forcibly shot apart as white smoke emitted from both of them, enveloping the arrancar. Kenpachi could slowly feel his spiritual energy rising as his smile slowly grew. As the smoke cleared, Kenpachi could see Stren fully released. His mask had fully reformed to cover his face with the shape of a badger, with a large black stripe running down the center of his head all the way to his snout. White bone covered his body protecting it; his muscles also grew, giving him an even bulkier build than before. His paws grew much larger as well, and gave him short but sharp claws. He opened his mouth to reveal a layer of sharp teeth.

"You don't seem surprised at all," Stren noticed. "This isn't your first time seeing an arrancars release?"

"It's the second," Kenpachi replied. "I fought against one named Nnoitra, but his was pretty different from yours."

"I've heard about Nnoitra," Stren said. "From a power rating, I have heard that…"

He struck Kenpachi's exposed ribs with his claws, causing blood to spray. "…I'm better than him," he finished.

Kenpachi brought his hand towards Stren, who quickly dodged it and raked Kenpachi's back. The shinigami quickly brought his blade down at his enemy, who blocked it with his forearm. He smiled and said, "My hierro was already strong enough, but when you add this armor, you can't scratch me."

He shot his arm up at Kenpachi's left shoulder, his claws rending the flesh. Kenpachi grunted as he attempted to stab his sword at the arrancar. Stren was this coming as he quickly released his claw from Kenpachi's shoulder and ducked to narrowly avoid the blade. Not missing a beat, he brought one claw at the side of Kenpachi's face, exposing his neck, while he used the other to bring his shoulder down. While in this position he smiled, "Now, let me taste it!"

He opened his mouth wide and sunk his teeth right where Kenpachi's neck meets his shoulder. Kenpachi gave a large scream of pain as he dropped to his knees. Stren wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "Nasty, not the best meal I've ever eaten."

"Ken-chan!" yelled Yachiru about to rush to his aid.

"Stay back!" Kenpachi roared back while spitting up blood.

Yachiru understood and simply nodded. "Impressive," complimented Stren, "being able to stand after such a wound."

"I wouldn't get too impressed about that," Kenpachi said fully on his feet now. "Those last blows let me know your potential, and I must say that you're leaving me with a sense of happiness. I haven't fought like this in a long time."

"A sane person would not get that feeling," Stren said with a grimace.

"Maybe so, but they don't know anything about a good fight, but I can tell you do, so let's continue!"

"As you wish."

Kenpachi was on Stren before he expected it. He swung his sword sideways to try and cut open Stren's stomach, but he hopped back, narrowly avoiding the blow. Kenpachi smiled as he quickly threw his right arm behind his back and switched his sword to his left hand. Without Stren noticing, he thrust his left hand at his right shoulder, piercing the armor. Shattered bone flew everywhere as Stren showed visible pain. He quickly got over it, however, and was able to cut Kenpachi's right cheek with his claws. The force caused Kenpachi to tilt to the left side, twisting his sword deeper inside of Stren. He gave a painful yell as he booted Kenpachi in his chest, sending him flying back, sword and all.

Stren painfully held his bleeding shoulder as Kenpachi stood back up with a smile on his face. "What's so funny?" asked the confused arrancar. "You're the one who took the most damage with that, yet you're smiling."

"I'm smiling because it took that much effort on my part just to wound you, so I know you won't die easily."

"I won't die," Stren said quickly using sonido to appear behind the shinigami with one claw on his shoulder, finishing, "but you will!"

Stren used the force of his body to force Kenpachi face-down into the ground with crashing speed. Stren was ready to plunge his claw into Kenpachi's back, but a swift kick from the shinigami sent him back a few inches. Stren was holding his stomach when he noticed Kenpachi was on him again, his sword raised high in the air.

Stren brought up both of his claws just in time to stop his sword right before it hit his head. Stren looked at the shinigami's face who was smiling back at him. Before he knew it, Kenpachi's head connected with the top of his skull, causing a large visible crack. Stren released the sword and stumbled back a few paces while being temporarily blinded. When he could see, he saw Kenpachi sliding his sword on the ground to gain friction and swiftly brought it up right across his chest.

Stren got a sudden burst of anger as he tackled Kenpachi to the ground and attempted to stab his claw into Kenpachi's chest, but he was blocked by Kenpachi who grabbed his arm a when it was a few inches away from his chest. "Shouldn't have done that," Kenpachi commented.

"What?" Stren asked too late.

Kenpachi's sword broke through the cracks in Stren's chest that he previously inflicted. Blood sprayed from his chest as he was forced to retreat in extreme pain. "Come on," Kenpachi casually said, "I didn't hit anything vital."

Stren looked at his enemy through bloodshot eyes. "_He's crazy!_" he thought. "_He thinks everything's a big joke. He's more injured than me and yet he's able to keep fighting. How is that possible?_"

Kenpachi cracked his neck and stated, "Come on, if you don't make a move I'm gonna have to."

"I guess I'm gonna have to use that," Stren said to himself.

The arrancar clapped both of his paws together and slowly started to separate them. Between his two paws a red cero began to form. "Cero!"

The cero shot at Kenpachi, who quickly hopped to the side to avoid it, making it hit the wall behind him. A very large explosion resulted, sending Kenpachi flying hard to the ground. "In my released form my cero is even more deadly," Stren boasted. "You did good to dodge that, but…" On the tips of all ten of his claws, red ceros began to form. "…will you be able to dodge all of these?"

"Uh-oh," Kenpachi quietly said, realizing the danger he was in.

When all ten were finished charging Stren yelled, "Cero!"

With that, all ten were released from his claws and flew towards Kenpachi. The shinigami gritted his teeth as he tried his best to dodge them. After dodging six of them, one finally found its mark at the center of his chest. A large explosion came from the contact, sending Kenpachi to the floor while coughing up blood. Stren laughed at this and chided, "So even you're not able to take these. That's good to know."

Ten more ceros began to form on the tips of his claws as Kenpachi was barely forcing himself up. "Let's see if you can dodge all of these! Cero!"

He released them from his fingertips towards the ailing captain. Kenpachi quickly realized the situation and formulated a plan. He dodged the first three that shot towards him and was able to slash the fourth with his sword, causing a smaller explosion by him. He quickly charged towards the arrancar while dodging the rest. "Looks like you're out!" Kenpachi smiled as he jumped in the air towards his enemy.

Stren simply smiled at this and held up his right index finger, showing he still had a charged cero there. "Oh really?" he mockingly asked. Before he released it, he said, "Goodbye shinigami, it was nice knowing you."

The cero hit Kenpachi dead on in the air. Stren started laughing, but it was cut short when he still saw Kenpachi barreling towards him, still fully conscious with his sword ready with the largest smile on his face.

Stren could only let out a small grunt of panic before Kenpachi's sword came crashing down on his left shoulder. The force was so great it shattered his armor and completely severed his arm from his body. "AGHHHH!" the arrancar yelled.

Kenpachi landed face first on the ground as Stren stepped back from him still yelling in pain. Stren watched as the captain slowly stood up. He was bleeding everywhere, yet still conscious and smiling. Seeing that image made something in Stren snap, as he wildly jumped towards his opponent with his right arm ready yelling, "YOU'RE FUCKIN' CRAZY! WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?!"  
"If I died now," Kenpachi started as he grabbed his blade with both hands. "I would miss out on a hell of a lot more fights!"

Stren gave out a large visible yell as he was about to come in contact with Kenpachi. In a fraction of a second, Kenpachi side-stepped the arrancars claw and his sword went crashing down on Stren's back, severing his spine. Stren landed on the ground with a dull thud and went sliding several feet before finally flipping over on his back and coming to a halt.

A wounded Kenpachi slowly walked towards his still-breathing enemy. It appeared as if Stren went back to his old self and could only laugh at the situation. When he saw Kenpachi he quietly said, "Gotta congratulate you on that last blow, even if it's the one that ended up killing me."

"So are you really in a situation to laugh?" Kenpachi ironically asked.

"I'm not laughing cause I'm dying," Stren assured the shinigami. "I'm laughing because even though you're insanely strong, you don't stand a chance against the foes you're going to meet. Remember, I'm only the third arrancar, and let me tell you, the gap between me and the second arrancar is immense."

"Sounds like number two's a scary guy," Kenpachi said. "What's he like?"

Stren closed his eyes and simply replied, "He's a real cold-blooded killer…"

With those last words Stren began to dematerialize into nothingness. When he was completely gone, Kenpachi felt his own consciousness fading. He was about to fall when Yachiru appeared in front of him and stopped him. "Yachiru…" the captain said.

Yachiru smiled and said, "Come on, I'll take you to Captain Unohana and get you treated."

Before he passed out completely he smiled and replied, "Sounds good…"

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Stark hit the ground in extreme pain. He looked around and saw the same thing happened to Shunsui and Ukitake. He looked back at his enemy and said, "Damn…"

Vannan scratched the back of his head and lightheartedly commented, "Is that all you got? Come on, I know three captains can do better."

"Don't worry, we'll show you what happens when you fight us," Ukitake said slowly standing up.

Vannan laughed at this and simply replied, "That sounds pretty good, I look forward to seeing what you can do…"

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It looks like Stark, Ukitake, and Shunsui are having trouble with this arrancar. Will they be able to get the upperhand?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	20. One Half's Psychosis is the Others Bliss

Stark, Ukitake, and Kyoraku find out Vannan is not all that he seems to be. Enjoy!

Sorry for not updating as often as I have been. I have been busy getting ready for school and such, which will make it even harder to write, so my goal is to finish before school starts again, wish me luck. Anyways, here's an extra long chapter as an apology for making you wait.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**20: One Half's Psychosis is the Others Bliss**

Vannan gave an audible yawn as the three shinigami captains struggled to get up. He blinked twice and asked Ukitake, "You said you were gonna show me what happens when I fight you, but so far nothing good has come from it. I must say, I am a tad disappointed."

Ukitake smiled light-heartedly at this comment. "Well we're very sorry to bore you; I guess it's time to really get this party started."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Vannan inquired.

Before Vannan expected it, Stark appeared behind him and swung his sword at his neck. Vannan responded by ducking and sweeping Stark's legs, knocking him to the ground. Without skipping a beat Vannan pinned down the Primera's arms and aimed the tip of his sword at his throat. Before the arrancar had time to thrust, Kyoraku appeared to the side of him and dealt him a swift kick, knocking Vannan off of Stark.

Vannan hit the wall with a dull thud before coming to a stop. He slowly sat up against the wall and stuck a finger inside his mouth. A look of pain appeared on his face as he yanked out a loose tooth. He stared at it and commented, "Pretty powerful kick there, strong enough to loosen a tooth. I applaud your strength."

"Don't you think it's a little early to be commenting on attacks?" Shunsui asked. "It makes you come off as a little presumptuous."

"Not presumptuous, just arrogant," Vannan replied in a light tone.

"At least you can admit it," Ukitake said with a sigh.

Vannan stood up and lightly cracked his neck. "Being honest is the closest thing to realization in the world. If you can't be honest with yourself, how can you understand anything going on around you? Anyway, let's continue, shall we?"

With those words all three captains surrounded the arrancar; he simply smiled at this. "Oh my, not playing around are you? Not that I'd want it any other way."

Before the three could strike, the arrancar used sonido to appear in the air above them. He smiled as he aimed for Ukitake with his sword ready. Both swords clashed as Ukitake parried Vannan's strike. This attack left him wide open as Stark and Kyoraku moved in him. Vannan smirked inwardly and spun around quick as lightning with his blade ready.

Kyoraku used both his swords to parry Vannan's unexpected blow. Stark used this opportunity to strike at the enemy, but before he could lunge his sword at Vannan's side, he grabbed the blade with his bare hand and pulled Stark into his outstretched foot, winding the Primera. The 9th Division Captain staggered back while holding his stomach as Vannan looked back at the 8th Division Captain.

"Come on, go easy on us Van," Kyoraku said with a wide grin. "It's only three against one."

Vannan didn't bother to answer, he simply responded by bringing his head crashing onto Kyoraku's. The sudden pain of the head-butt caused Shunsui to step back from the arrancar. Vannan used this opportunity to deliver a well placed kick to the captain's chest, sending him crashing into a wall.

Vannan could sense Ukitake sneaking up on him and quickly grabbed the 13th Division Captain's blade with his free hand and used his sword to slash at his chest. Vannan released Ukitake's blade and let him take a few steps back.

With all three captains not coming at him, he decided it was the time to answer Kyoraku's question. "Go easy on you? Unfortunately I don't have the time to be fighting you all day. My mission was to eliminate as many as possible, and although three is good for one fight, I can't let my other fellow arrancars get ahead of me in kills. I'm sure you understand."

In the blink of an eye, all three captains were on their feet, spurred on by the anger they felt at his outburst. "I don't think we have time to be messing around with you either," Captain Kyoraku said, the light-heartedness in his voice now gone.

"Then by all means release your zanpakutos."

Shunsui threw off his already beaten hat and said to Ukitake, "I don't think we got a choice here. He's pretty strong and we're on a time limit too."

"I suppose you're right," Ukitake replied with a low growl.

Kyoraku crossed his two swords and chanted, "Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon Sneer, Katen Kyokatsu!"

"All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield, Lightning, Strike now and Become my Blade, Sogyo no Kotowari."

Both captains' zanpakuto transformed with these words into two separate blades for each. Stark sighed and commented, "Are your release phrases really that long? It seems like it would be troublesome to have to say that in battle."

"Shut up!" Kyoraku comically replied. "They're both so long because they're super powerful, right Jushiro?"

"Don't look at me," Ukitake replied, "it wouldn't be my first pick for a release phrase, that's for sure."

"Well either way, they're released now, so what say we take out the trash Jushiro?" Shunsui happily asked.

"All right…"

After those words were said, both captains rushed at their target. Ukitake went in first and brought his two blades crashing against Vannan's own sword. He grunted at the power it brought and was forced back a few inches.

"Now Jushiro!" declared Kyoraku.

Ukitake understood and quickly used shunpo to move away from a slightly bewildered Vannan. Shunsui pointed his sword at his target and said, "Busho Koma!"

A tornado shot out of the sword and went towards Vannan with lightning speed. Vannan, however, sensed the danger and appeared behind Kyoraku with his sword poised to kill. Before he could strike, Stark was behind him and deftly kicked him in the side of his head, sending him against the wall.

Vannan emerged with blood flowing down the side of his head. "Nice triple team there," he commented. "I guess I got no choice but to fight you on equal footing."

"So you're going to release?" Ukitake curiously asked.

"Oh no, no," Vannan replied. "You're hardly worth the effort. No, let's just call it an arrancar's shikai, shall we?"

"What do you mean?" asked the former-Primera.

Vannan smirked. "You'll see."

Vannan's blade was immediately set alight with flames. Not bothering with an explanation, a fireball gathered at the tip of the arrancar's blade. He quickly aimed it and shot at Kyoraku. The ball traveled quickly, but he quickly jumped and avoided it. A massive explosion appeared behind Shunsui, causing him to look at the wall the fireball hit. Despite its small size, the hole it made was massive.

"Like it?" the arrancar smirked. "The fireball is small, but it packs a powerful punch. I certainly wouldn't want to get hit by one of them."

"I see…" Ukitake said. He motioned at Stark and Kyoraku, who knew what he was thinking. "Come on then, try your luck against me."

"You think I'd give in to your childish taunts?" replied Vannan. "It's obvious you guys got some sorta plan goin' on here, so I'm not doing anything you say."

"A prudent choice," Stark said with a grimace.

Vannan appeared behind Stark with lightning speed. The 9th Division Captain quickly turned around and parried the blow. Vannan smirked as the flames from his blade shot out on Stark's chest. He grunted, but quickly pushed Vannan away. Kyoraku took this chance to appear a good length behind the two arrancar with his swords ready. "Busho Koma!"

"You sure you wanna do that?" asked the smirking arrancar. He quickly shot a fireball from his sword to the oncoming tornado. "You know wind just magnifies fire right?"

The fireball entered the tornado and quickly spun around, getting bigger every second. Eventually it shot back out at its original target. Stark jumped away from Vannan as Ukitake appeared in front of Kyoraku, his left sword at the ready.

The fireball quickly entered his left sword and just as quickly shot back out his right sword towards Vannan. He didn't expect this and took the blow full force, sending him back several feet to the ground in a smoking heap.

"Bull's-eye," smiled Shunsui. "Nice team work there."

"He ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

All three captains turned around to see Vannan laughing on the floor. "What was that? It was like a faster version of my attack. Fantastic! I love it!"

Vannan sat up with a very large grin on his face. His shirt was slightly charred from the blast, but he didn't seem to have any injuries at all. "How were you able to do that?"

"You can attack again and find out," Ukitake replied with a smile.

"What do you take me for? Only an idiot would take you up on that deal. Now I know not to use ranged attacks on you."

Before Vannan could even blink, Stark appeared in front of him and impaled his left shoulder. The blade, surprising went through without any resistance. "Try not to get too distracted with just one," Stark stated. "After all, there are three of us."

Vannan's smirk grew to a full-blown smile as he let out an insane laugh. Following the laugh, he slashed the defenseless Stark across his chest. The fire on the blade sealed the wound instantly, but caused more pain. Stark let out a painful scream as he was able to yank his sword out and jump back to Ukitake and Kyoraku.

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" asked the still laughing arrancar. "To be able to pierce an arrancar's hierro so easily. Let me show you what happened."

He grabbed the area where he was stabbed and was able to rip off a patch of clothing, revealing his hollow hole right where Stark's stabbed him. What was even more surprising to the captains however, was the number "2" that was right next to his hollow hole.

"You're only the second?" asked a disbelieved Ukitake.

"I thought that was fairly obvious," Vannan smirked. "But yes, there is one arrancar above me, although it should be obvious to figure out."

"This is bad," Shunsui commented. "We've been dragging this fight on for too long, we gotta try and finish this quick."

Vannan returned to his normal self and said, "What a coincidence, I was just thinking the same—AGH!"

A sudden pain attacked Vannan. He dropped his sword and grabbed his head with both hands. He was letting out several grunts of pain, muttering, "Go away…get the hell away from me…Argh…leave me alone…"

"What the hell's going on?" Stark inquired.

Vannan was paying the three captains no heed anymore as he started to wander around aimlessly while still gripping his head. After several agonizing seconds, Vannan threw his head back. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

After his loudest scream was completed, his head aimed at the floor, breathing heavily. "You okay Van?" Kyoraku asked with curiosity.

"Van? Who the hell is Van?" the arrancar replied. He suddenly looked up at all three captains with bloodshot eyes. "My name's Vannan you fucking idiot!"

The tone of his voice sent shivers down all the captains' spines. Vannan eyed the three of them while quietly chucking to himself. "One, two, three, that's quite a lot." He seemed to be talking to himself when he finished, "You've been hogging them all you bastard, not letting me in on the fun."

While he kept muttering to himself, Stark asked Ukitake, "What the hell's the matter with him? He doesn't seem like himself."

Ukitake was deep in thought for several seconds, watching Vannan's strange behavior. "If I didn't know any better, my guess would have to be paranoid schizophrenia."

"Schizophrenia?" asked a confused Stark.

"You know, when someone has two types of personality," Ukitake explained. "Usually one dominates, but the other half occasionally takes over."

"Well I'm not liking this side too much," Stark commented. "This could get really ugly."

Vannan seemed to finish muttering to himself he picked up his sword and set it ablaze again. His bloodshot eyes looked at the shinigami and explained, "Sorry about that, but it looks like the Vannan you know is not gonna be out for a while, but don't worry, you can play with me instead."

"Be on guard," Ukitake warned, raising his blades.

Without any warning, Vannan was behind Ukitake and plunged his sword straight into his left shoulder. Ukitake froze for a second before letting out a large scream. Stark and Kyoraku were about to act, but Vannan was already prepared for them. He aimed his free hand at them in the shape of a fist, with only his index and pinky finger sticking out. Between them a light green cero began to charge. "Cero!" the arrancar happily stated.

Both captains jumped out of the way in time, but Vannan wasn't finished yet. He pulled his sword out the shocked Ukitake and leapt in the air after the two shinigami. He aimed his sword at Stark and shot a fireball at him, which he wasn't able to dodge mid-air. The explosion hit him full force as he hit the ground with a thud.

"Stark!" Lilynette cried faraway from the battle. She quickly appeared to her counterpart's side to aid him.

Vannan smirked at Kyoraku and clashed blades with him in the air. They both landed on the ground and went at it again. Vannan made the flames from his blade start to hit Kyoraku, who quickly jumped back when he saw the danger. Vannan was expecting this as he aimed his fist at Shunsui. "Cero!"

Kyoraku was about to dodge when Ukitake appeared in front of him and absorbed his attack and shot it right back at him. Vannan quickly dodged and laughed at this. "I see, so that's your swords power eh? You absorb the attack with your left sword and use the cords to make the attack go faster, and then re-fire it out of your right blade, making it look like you shoot it!"

"Damn," panted a wounded Ukitake. "He's stronger than the Vannan we've been fighting. He was able to find out my power with only one attack."

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed the insane arrancar. "Fucking fantastic! I want more…I WANT MORE! I WANT TO FEEL IT!"

Without any warning, he plunged his still ablaze zanpakuto right into his heart. He let out his largest smile to date and declared, "Char, Despida Zorro (Fire Fox)!"

A large pillar of fire erupted from Vannan's body. "What was that?" Shunsui asked.

"Careful," Stark warned sitting up while still wounded. "He just released his sword, whatever it is, it's about to get a lot tougher. Come here Lilynette." Lilynette got closer as he instructed as he put his hand on her head. "Kick, Los Lobos!"

Stark's released mode emerged through the smoke as all three captains looked at the pillar of fire, not knowing what's going to come out of it.

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Will the three wounded captains be able to fend off this new ferocious Vannan?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	21. High of the Fire Fox

The newly crazed Vannan is itching to kill, and his new release mode makes it a lot easier. Enjoy!

**On a side note, due to the review I've gotten about people complaining about the lack of explanation of Ichigo's becoming of a captain, and due to shortness of the the Prologue, I have completely rewritten it into a very long chapter, more clearly explaining things that happened and fixing my mistake on Ichigo's lack of life. So go back and read it when you have the chance. =D**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I only own my story and my own characters. If I did own Bleach, I wouldn't have time to be writing fanficion.

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**21: High of the Fire Fox**

Stark, Ukitake, and Kyoraku stared apprehensively as the flames started to lower. After several agonizing seconds, the flames disappeared and only smoke remained. Before the smoke fully cleared, Vannan lunged through the smoke at the three of them. All three reacted in time, and just as Vannan passed in a blur, Stark aimed one of his guns at him and shot. The arrancar disappeared in a flurry of red away from the three shinigami.

"That was close," Kyoraku said with a sigh, "didn't expect him to be so much faster in his release state."

"There's no telling what he's going to do," Stark stated. "Be on guard from now on."

Vannan let out a bone-chilling laugh. "So that's your release, eh Primera? A gun that can shoot ceros is pretty good; I'm looking forward to what's next."

"Crazy bastard…" Ukitake muttered.

All three shinigami captains looked at their newly transformed enemy. Surprisingly, nothing changed about his physical appearance. He was still the same height and didn't grow any bone armor. That didn't mean, however, that his new form was not menacing. While Vannan himself remained unchanged, he was now engulfed from head to toe in red see-through flames. The flames themselves took the shape of his body and looked reminiscent of a fox, complete with flames the shape of claws on his hands, flames taking the shape of fox ears on top of his head, and a flame tail that swished dangerously behind him. Vannan smiled behind the flames, revealing he had also grown fangs.

"I thought most arrancar grew in size when they release," Kyoraku said.

"It's true that most do," Stark explained. "There is, however, one type of hollow that retains a human shape at all times when becoming an arrancar. Those are called Vasto Lordes, the most deadly of all."

"Fantastic," Kyoraku replied with a sigh, "a schizophrenic Vasto Lorde. What more could we want?"

"Enough talk," Vannan interjected. "It's time for us to have some fun."

Stark, Ukitake, and Shunsui readied their weapons as Vannan got on all fours. With a snarl, he pounced towards the trio. Before he got too close, he disappeared and was suddenly right behind Kyoraku, one of his flame claws ready to strike. Kyoraku took a fleeting glance behind him and quickly jumped out of the way, making Vannan's claw connect with the ground. The blow itself left a large hole in the ground, along with a few flames flickering.

"Don't wanna get hit by that, that's for sure," Kyoraku light-heartedly stated.

Stark shot a cero at Vannan, who saw it coming, but didn't dodge it. After the massive explosion, it revealed the arrancar unharmed by the blast. "What?" a confused Stark uttered.

"The flames are a perfect shield for me," Vannan smirked. "It will take more firepower than that to bring me down!"

"Hado 63: Soren Sokatsui!"

Two blue beams shot out of Ukitake's hand towards Vannan. He was the danger coming and held waved his hand at the oncoming Kido spell. A wave of flames shot out of his hand and formed a wall between him and the oncoming blast. The wall easily stopped the oncoming spell and made Vannan give a small chuckle.

"Busho Koma!"

A large whirlwind appeared behind Vannan and successfully enveloped him. Kyoraku jumped up and stared, "Takaoni!"

"Didn't I tell you before…WIND JUST INTENSIFIES THE FIRE!" Vannan yelled, cutting the 8th Division Captain off.

A tremendous burst of energy was emitted from the arrancar, destroying the tornado surrounding him, and pushing Kyoraku back to the ground with magnificent force. He quickly recovered to see Vannan closing in on him at breakneck speed. He was prepared to counter when Stark appeared between the two and fired a quick cero at Vannan, effectively stopping his attack.

"I could have taken him," Kyoraku commented to the former Primera.

"Don't complain," Stark bluntly replied. "I just saved your ass."

Shunsui smiled and looked around for Vannan. Alarm showed when he sensed he was behind both of them. Stark felt it as well, as they both looked behind to see him standing there with a grin.

"All three of you work together like a well-oiled machine. I haven't had a challenge like this in a long time."

"You say that, and yet you're not taking any damage yourself," Kyoraku commented.

Vannan let out a chuckle as he stretched both of his arms in preparation. "You know, as much fun as I've had I'm afraid I must kill you all now; so goodbye."

At the blink of an eye Vannan was right in front of Stark. He quickly swung his claw across his chest, destroying his shirt and charring his chest black. He gave a roar of pain but gritted his teeth and aimed both pistols at his now close enemy. Stark pulled both triggers quickly and both large ceros hit the arrancar dead on, sending him flying back.

Vannan did a lightly jumped back and didn't receive any damage. He let out a large laugh and rushed at him again.

Stark saw him coming and quickly used sonido to get into the air. Vannan caught sight of him and leapt up after him. Stark shot both guns in rapid succession, sending several ceros at the flying arrancar. He reacted quickly and shot several fireballs at each cero, making them explode in the air. Stark used sonido to get back on the ground, but Vannan was already ahead of him with his claws poised to strike Stark quickly and quietly.

"Tei Touza (Air Current)!" shouted a desperate Shunsui while aiming his swords at Vannan.

A large burst of air shot from the swords and hit Vannan dead on, sending him flying away from Stark. He hit the ground hard before bouncing several times and finally stopping.

"I could have taken him," Stark said to Kyoraku.

The 8th Division Captain simply smiled and replied, "Now we're even."

Vannan stood up with anger stamped on his face. "I give you an opportunity to die quietly, but you just had to fucking push it didn't you. Well now I'm just gonna have to kill you all at once."

"And how do you intend to do that?" asked Ukitake.

Vannan smiled as he connected both hands index and pinkie fingers together to form the shape of a pentagram. A large cero started to form between both hands. "I'm sure you're familiar with this technique Primera, it was something only the Espada were allowed to use."

Stark knew what he was talking about and warned his fellow captains, "Shit! Ukitake, you can't block such a cero, just get behind me quickly!"

Both captains understood the urgency in his voice and complied. Vannan smiled as he separated his two hands from each other, shooting the blast while yelling, "Gran Rey Cero!"

The much larger version of the cero was sent barreling towards the three captains. Stark aimed one of his guns at it and said, "Cero Metralleta!"

Several blasts shot out of Stark's gun, but were not enough to stop oncoming blast. He grinded his teeth and quickly aimed his other gun as well.

"Doble Cero Metralleta!"

Both guns shot out a barrage of ceros that collided with the already weakened Gran Rey Cero. When they met, both blasts gave a massive explosion, the force sending all of them flying back with recoil. Kyoraku sat up holding his head.

"Ouch, that hurt a lot."

He looked at Ukitake, who was already wounded from Vannan's stab wound, on the ground in pain. "This is bad, Stark, we need to help Jushiro fast!"

He looked to see Stark not getting up as well. He was breathing heavily and looked at Shunsui. "Guess firing three Cero Metralletas really took it out of me. I'm almost drained."  
Kyoraku nodded and stood up by to face his enemy. "I understand. You guys just rest, I'll take care of him."

He suddenly saw both Ukitake and Stark stand up behind him. "Don't be ridiculous," Ukitake smiled. "Your wind powers don't do much against his fire. You'll need our help."

Shunsui smiled lightly as he looked at Vannan. "Even Ol' Yama says we work best when together. I'm sure we can work out a strategy."

"While that is a nice thought I don't think he's gonna wait," Stark said to them both. "I'll hold him off while you guys think of something."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Kyoraku said with concern. "Your powers work as well as mine against him and you've got almost no energy left."

"Which is why I'm counting on you guys," Stark smiled. "I'm dead weight to you now anyways, and this is the only help I can be to you."

Before Kyoraku could protest, Stark used sonido to disappear from them. "Wait damn it!"

"Forget it Shunsui," Ukitake bluntly stated. "He's made up his mind about this, there's not stopping him now. We'd better hurry and think of something fast."

"Right…" the 8th Division Captain replied with defeat.

"Oho, I thought you were discussing a plan there, but you're going to be the only one to face me?" a surprised Vannan asked.

"You say it like it won't be a challenge," Stark coolly replied. "Don't worry, I'll give you good exercise."

"I shall enjoy carving you up like a goose," Vannan threatened.

Stark smiled at this, and then the two rushed at each other. Vannan quickly swung a claw at Stark, who deftly ducked and rolled away.

"_With my current power I can probably only fire three shots; I'll have to make them count!_"

Stark hopped back again as Vannan lunged towards him. He narrowly avoided a rake to his chest, but the head his arm gave off gave him minor burns causing him even more pain. Vannan grinned as he continued swinging at the tired ex-Primera. Fatigue started showing on Stark's face as Vannan tried to swipe at his head. He quickly ducked and aimed a gun at his chest, firing at point blank range before jumping back. The captain was breathing heavily as Vannan started laughing through the smoke.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Stark aimed both his guns at the silhouette in the smoke. He suddenly saw it vanish and appear in front of him. Without wasting a second, Vannan thrust his claw into Stark's shoulder, causing him to yell in pain. He got over the pain quickly and aimed his gun at Vannan's head and shot. He surprisingly didn't move from his spot and stared straight at Stark's face with a large grin. The pain of his arm being in his shoulder was getting the better of Stark. He gave a massive grunt of pain before quickly booting Vannan in the chest, causing him to retreat back and burning his foot in the process.

"A battle's no fun without some wounds, don't you agree?" asked a still smiling Vannan.

"_One more shot…_"

"It's not that bad," Stark replied with a straight face.

"I think I like you," Vannan laughed. "And I always take special care as to how I kill the people I'm interested in. Isn't that a relief knowing such thought is going to go into your death?"

While Vannan was talking, Stark used sonido to appear above Vannan with his right gun at his enemy. "_So Lilynette, this might hurt to expend so much energy, but please bear with it._"

Stark focused all of his energy into one last shot at the back of Vannan's head. Vannan was just turning his head when Stark fired, sending a massive cero to the arrancar. The impact was so great it sent Vannan flying to the ground with great force. Stark landed on his feet and was breathing heavily.

"_That's all I got…if he doesn't stay down I'm as good as finished._"

To Stark's surprise, Vannan rose fairly quickly. He turned the side of his head that the cero hit him in to Stark. The fire that was supposed to cover him there was missing and left Vannan's face wide open. He smiled wide at Stark as the fire started to slowly cover where he was hit.

"What a fucking powerful hit, enough to get rid of some of my armor. Too bad it regenerates, so it was useless in the end. Now am I right in thinking that you're all out of energy? If so, I'm gonna take my time killing you."

Stark could barely move, so he wasn't able to dodge Vannan's cleaving strike to his chest, causing him to scream. He tried his best to dodge, but Vannan grabbed his shoulder and kicked him in the chin sending him in the air. While midair, Vannan appeared above him and dealt him a powerful punch to send him to the ground. Still in the air, the smiling Vannan flew down to the grounded Stark and kneed him in his chest, causing blood to gush out of his mouth.

Vannan smiled as he readied to rip out Stark's throat when he felt a massive force send him off of Stark. Vannan quickly recovered to see it was Shunsui Kyoraku who sent him off.

"So now you'd like to die as well?" asked an angered Vannan.

Kyoraku ignored the comment and addressed Stark. "Remember how you've always wanted to see our Bankais? Even after the battle you kept annoying me saying you wanted to see it. Well this is your lucky day; you get to see both of our Bankais at once. So just sit tight and enjoy the show!"

Stark smiled at this and nodded. "Interesting," Vannan interrupted. "You've piqued my curiosity. I'll leave this trash for later." He kicked Stark over to the wall. "Now come on, show me what you've got. If you don't, I'll force you to."

As Vannan leapt towards the two captains, Ukitake said to his companion, "Let's do it!"

"You first buddy," Kyoraku said to Ukitake with a smile.

Ukitake nodded and stared at his enemy.

"Bankai!"

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It's time for the two captains to show what they're made of.

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	22. Bankai's Unite, Black and White

Ukitake and Kyoraku show what they're made of when they release their Bankais. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**22: Bankai's Unite, Black and White**

"We only have one shot at this, so we better not mess it up," Ukitake said to his companion.

"Then we'd better not mess this up," Kyoraku coolly replied. "Let's get started."

Ukitake nodded as he crossed his blades to form an X.

"Bankai!"

Vannan heard this and stopped his attack. He simply smiled and waited for the smoke to disappear. When it was cleared, it showed Ukitake standing there, surprisingly with no swords at all. "Shindou Sogyo no Kotowari (Impacting Truth of Pisces)!"

"That's your Bankai?" the confused arrancar asked. "Where the fuck are your weapons?"

Ukitake held up both of his hands to reveal two circular dials covering most of his two palms. Vannan could have burst out laughing at that moment.

"Well ain't that just great! I always thought captains Bankais were supposed to be terrifying, but you instead got two circles on your hand!"

"You mock it now, but I assure you it's good enough to fight you." He struck up a fighting position and taunted, "Now come, let's continue."

Vannan grinded his teeth and replied, "Sure."

They both charged at each other with incredible speed. As soon as they moved, Kyoraku took this time to use shunpo to appear next to the wounded Stark. He saw him and then looked back at the battle. "Is that really his Bankai? To think I wanted to see something like that."

"Don't worry," Kyoraku replied. "It doesn't look like much, but it's one of the strongest Bankais around. But first we gotta get you out of the vicinity."

"Vicinity?"

Kyoraku helped him up and used shunpo to get them at a safe distance between the fight. When Stark was a safe distance away, he set him down and started walking towards the battle. While he was walking away, Stark asked a question.

"What do you mean by vicinity?"

Kyoraku glanced back at him with a smile. "You'll see soon enough."

Vannan threw a quick jab at Ukitake, who caught it with his left hand and quickly knocked it away. Vannan snarled and went for a low kick, but Ukitake was able to grab his hand with his left arm and knock it away.

"_What the fuck's going on?_" Vannan thought while fighting the captain. "_My fire's not having any effect on him. He catches my punches like they're nothing at all. And even so, he's only blocking with his left hand, despite having a wounded left shoulder._"

Vannan snarled as he started to get angry and threw a barrage of punches. Ukitake blocked a few with his left hand and deftly dodged the rest. Vannan used sonido to appear behind Ukitake and tried to impale him. Ukitake saw this, however, and was able to hop to the side.

"Attack me damn it!" Vannan angrily taunted. "You're only dodging or blocking, how do you plan to win like that?"

"You're right," Ukitake replied. "But there's a reason I'm only blocking. And it's a good thing I'm fighting against someone like you who gives off so much energy with your blows."

"Fuck you!" Vannan jumped away from Ukitake and started charging up a cero. "I'll just blow you away right now!"

He shot the cero and the speed of a bala. Ukitake saw it coming and grabbed it with his left hand. To the surprise of the arrancar, the cero disappeared into his hand. Seeing this made Vannan start to understand.

"You mean…"

"That's right," Ukitake smiled. "You should know that Bankais are just an improvement of our Shikais. So why would this one be any different?"

Rage appeared on Vannan's face as he charged at Ukitake again. He swung a powerful fist at Ukitake, who was able to block it with his left hand. He held his hand in place while he looked at Vannan's angry face.

"I think I've gotten enough energy," Ukitake stated.

"What?"

"We saw your fight with Stark back there," the captain answered. "If you take a large blow, your fire armor disappears for a certain amount of time. Luckily, I have a strong attack that can take away your armor and probably damage you a great deal."

"How can you do it with no weapons?" Vannan smirked. "While your dials can absorb my cero and block my attacks, it does nothing for offense."

"While it's true that absorbing is the job of my left dial, you have yet to see me use my right dial."

"What?!"

"Allow me to fully explain my Bankais power now. I have a dial on both of my hands, and both have a specific job. My left, as you stated, absorbs anything that touches it, such as the power of your attacks. My right dial, however, has a very different job. Before I can use it, however, I need to gather enough energy in my left dial. Luckily, due to the nature of your release form, you've given me more than enough. Figured it out yet? Just like with my Shikai, the power of my right hand is to amplify the power I've absorb and send it right back at you."

"Shit!" Vannan uttered, knowing the danger he was now in. He desperately tried to break free from Ukitake's grip, but to no avail.

Ukitake held out his right hand right in front of Vannan's chest. "Tough luck," he smiled.

Not wasting another second, the dial in his right hand released all of the energy his left hand absorbed. The power was so great, it sent Vannan flying several feet and sent Ukitake's right arm flying behind him with recoil, in turn sending him flying back. The white-haired captain flew to Kyoraku's feet.

"Haven't seen that in a while," he smiled.

Ukitake weakly looked up at his companion. "Hurry, before his armor recovers."

Kyoraku nodded as he walked past his friend. "I know. You better get back."

The 8th Division Captain held both of his swords in the form of a cross. "Bankai!"

Vannan was breathing heavily as he started to stand up. The fire on his entire front side was gone, and he broke a few ribs in the process. "I didn't think it would be that powerful…" he panted.

He quickly snapped back into reality as he realized Shunsui Kyoraku activated his Bankai. When the flash of light disappeared it revealed Captain Kyoraku standing there like normal. Surprisingly, however, instead of having two blades like his Shikai, it formed into a single katana, like his sealed sword. "Riborubingu Katen Kyokotsu (Revolving Flower Heaven, Crazy Bone)!"

"Better not underestimate this one either," Vannan said striking a fighting stance. "Especially with my armor gone."

Kyoraku heard him and smirked. "Sorry, but my Bankai doesn't take as long as Jushiro's. In fact, it's already started."

"What…"

Suddenly all the walls around him started to shake and crumble, as if they were being pulled by some unknown force. After losing their bonds, all of the stones on the wall started flying towards the arrancar, who tried to dodge most of them, but got hit by the debris. Suddenly Vannan started to feel himself getting pulled towards Kyoraku as well.

"Shit!"

Still weak from Ukitake's attack, Vannan couldn't resist its power. He suddenly started flying towards the captain, no longer able to do anything.

"Ugh, you're able to…"

"That's right," Kyoraku finished. "My Bankai allows me to control all of the wind in the vicinity, letting me do as I like. For example, I can send all of these stones towards you right now."

He sent more floating stones barreling towards Vannan. He quickly lashed out at them, knocking them all away. "Not bad," Kyoraku chuckled. "Too bad I'm still in control here."

Vannan was still barreling towards Kyoraku being unable to stop it. Shunsui held up his sword and explained, "Now this sword is a very special one. Much like with Captain Kuchiki's Shukei, it focuses all of my energy into one point and is able to cut almost anything. Normally with that fire armor it wouldn't be a killing blow, but thanks to Jushiro's attack, it's taking a while for your fire armor to reform. Well, it was nice knowing you Van."

"No, wait! Fuck!" the desperate arrancar said being unable to stop from flying towards the captain, who readied his sword to strike.

When he was close enough, Kyoraku brought down his sword with a driving force, slashing Vannan horizontally across his chest and leaving a very deep wound. After the strike was done, Vannan fell to the floor on his back. Kyoraku sighed and deactivated his Bankai, reverting them back to two swords again. He sheathed them and looked at the dying arrancar.

He coughed up a good amount of blood and seemed to return to his normal self. "Damn…gotta congratulate you on that last blow. That was powerful enough to probably take Aizen down…"

"Where is Aizen?" Kyoraku pressed.

"Oh, he's here," Vannan smiled. "Probably killing your leader as we speak…"

"Ol' Yama…" the captain quietly whispered.

"Heh…dyin' ain't that bad…but you'll find that out soon enough when Aizen comes for you. He hid his identity from us for the longest time…but I always knew it was him…and always knew he had something very powerful he wasn't showing us…I just didn't know what…"

"Sorry to break it to you, but Aizen was simply using you for his own ambitions," Shunsui bluntly stated.

"You think that made a difference to me?" Vannan smirked. "Arrancar only exist to battle…and I knew I needed someone powerful to keep my other side from coming out…but look where I ended up anyway. Dying because my other side was foolish and bloodthirsty. Oh well…I guess that's life. Ha…ha…ha…"

With those final words, Vannan died and started to disappear. Kyoraku sighed and walked over to the wounded Stark and Ukitake. "Pretty powerful back there," Stark smiled. "Glad you never used it against me."

"Yeah," Kyoraku said. "Now come on, we gotta get you to the 4th Division quick."

"What did he say to you before he died?" inquired Ukitake.

"Nothing important," Shunsui replied, keeping the news of Yamamoto away from his wounded comrades. He then brought them both to their feet saying, "Come on, let's go."

"_Sorry Ol' Yama_," Shunsui thought while leading his friends away from the battlefield. "_You'll have to wait a bit before help arrives. Besides, I know you can take care of yourself._ _After all, that's why you're our leader_."

Smiling inwardly, Kyoraku, Stark, and Ukitake made their trek to the 4th Division.

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Ichigo parried Grimmjow's blow with relative ease, and launched a counter-attack of his own, bringing his sword down on top of him. Grimmjow saw this and blocked it with his zanpakuto. He quickly kicked Ichigo in the stomach and sent him away. Grimmjow looked angrily at his opponent.

"Why don't you activate Bankai Kurosaki?"

Ichigo smiled and replied, "I don't need to activate it to fight you like this. I've gotten much stronger over the years and can fight you with my Shikai now."

"You make it sound like you're the only one who's been training," Grimmjow smiled. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day. The day where I can kill you again!"

Grimmjow attacked again, and Ichigo parried the blow quickly. They then broke off and Grimmjow smiled. "I'm gonna show you why you can't hold back against me Kurosaki!"

He threw took off his arrancar jacket and turned his back to Ichigo, showing him his tattoo. Surprisingly, it didn't show the number "6" like he expected, but showed a different number.

"So you've gotten that strong eh?" Ichigo asked.

"That's right," Grimmjow replied. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. Primera Arrancar, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques! Now do you have a reason to activate Bankai Kurosaki?!"

"Tch," was all Ichigo could reply with.

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A duel of fates erupts between Ichigo and Grimmjow.

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	23. Muted Dreams

Old grudges are reignited as Grimmjow and Ichigo clash blades yet again. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**23: Muted Dreams**

Despite this new revelation, Ichigo refused to activate his Bankai and simply struck at Grimmjow again. The arrancar took this as an insult and quickly parried. Grimmjow smiled at Ichigo as they stood at a standoff for a second, before he kicked the shinigami in his ribs, causing him to grunt in pain.

Ichigo pulled back and quickly went in again, swinging his sword sideways. Grimmjow jumped to avoid it and nimbly landed a few steps away from him.

"What's your problem Kurosaki?" the newly appointed Primera asked. "Your heart's not in your moves. It's almost as if you don't want to fight me."

"I need to get to Aizen as fast as possible," Ichigo replied. "I don't have time to be fighting you."

"Then isn't that more of a reason to activate Bankai and your mask to finish me?"

"I need to save my energy for Aizen. I can't expend it against you."

Grimmjow looked at the ground and repeated, "Save your energy for Aizen? GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!"

Without warning he charged at Ichigo with incredible speed and struck. Ichigo barely had time to bring his blade up and parry the blow.

"You see me as just a fight before Aizen?" Grimmjow's voice was laden with anger. "Listen to me Kurosaki, for you this may be a distraction, but I've trained for ten years for this, and I'll be damned if you don't give it your all. Besides, if you didn't, you'd be dead real quick!"

Immediately after saying that, Grimmjow used sonido to appear behind Ichigo and slashed his back with his sword. Ichigo took a step forward to brace himself before swinging his sword around towards his foe. Grimmjow was able to block his zanpakuto with just his forearm, leaving his sword free. Grinning manically, the arrancar thrust his sword into Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo gritted his teeth and jumped back, trying his best not to scream in pain.

"Don't you dare fucking underestimate me!" Grimmjow stated with anger still. "I'm gonna take my time to get my revenge against you. So I hope you're ready for a long fight!"

Ichigo clutched his wounded shoulder and spat out some blood. He then stared at Grimmjow with realization in his eyes. "You're right, sorry for not understanding. If it's a real fight you want, I'll give you one. Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu!"

Ichigo emerged from the smoke with lightning speed. Grimmjow smiled and matched his speed. Their blades clashed at the center with a force strong enough to crack the walls all around them. Seconds after their blades touched, they separated again. Being only a blur to the common eye, they both jumped in air and struck again. Grimmjow jumped back and yelled, "Cero!"

A red cero shot from his hand towards Ichigo, who narrowed his eyes and replied, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Both attacks hit each other in the middle and exploded in a mix of black and red. They both quickly landed on the floor and rushed at each other again. Seconds after parrying, Ichigo brought his sword back and attempted to slash Grimmjow's legs. The arrancar foresaw this and jumped back a step before bringing his sword down towards Ichigo's shoulder. The shinigami captain barely had enough time to bring his sword and knock it away before jumping back completely.

Both shinigami and arrancar stared at each other and grinned. "Good enough for you Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, your Bankai only gives you average speed. Put on your mask and let's really get this started!"

"Only gives me average speed, eh?" repeated Ichigo. "That may have been true in the past, but I'm afraid that's not the case anymore."

Before Grimmjow knew it, Ichigo was on him, swinging his blade towards Grimmjow's chest. Reacting on instinct, Grimmjow brought up his left forearm to block it. To the arrancar's surprise, the sword started to dig into his skin. Grimmjow realized this quickly and kicked Ichigo in the chest, sending him back. Blood started to come out of his new wound as Grimmjow scowled. Ichigo, however, seemed to smile at this.

"I remember how you used to be able to grab my sword with your bare hands," stated Ichigo. "But now I'm able to wound you with just a slash."

"Don't get so cocky just cause you wounded me," replied the slightly-angered arrancar. "Even if you can cut me, if you can't hit me, it won't make a difference anyway. Now let's continue."  
Ichigo nodded and they both disappeared with lightning speed. Ichigo tried to stab Grimmjow, but he quickly knocked it away with his own sword before using his free hand to slash Ichigo's chest. Ichigo stepped back and jumped into the air, where Grimmjow met him. They both grinned at each other before striking again.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo yelled.

Grimmjow dropped his sword and quickly charged a Cero and shot at it before appearing behind Ichigo with one charged in the other hand. Ichigo quickly turned around and slashed the oncoming blast with his sword, causing a minor explosion. Grimmjow took this opportunity to kick Ichigo in his chest and kick him to the ground.

Ichigo slowly stood up as Grimmjow took hold of his fallen sword. He spat on the ground in anger. "Come on Kurosaki! This isn't a fucking game you know; I could have easily split you in two. You're still holding back, hoping to beat me that way. Well it won't fucking work!"

"Speak for yourself," Ichigo replied before appearing in front of his enemy with his sword ready to strike.

He swung his sword upward, slashing Grimmjow vertically, slicing his right shoulder open. Not wasting this opportunity, Ichigo quickly brought his sword back and yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Grimmjow quickly brought his arms up to block it, but still took explosive damage. He quickly jumped away with a bloodied chest and was breathing heavily. Surprisingly, he smiled and let out a hearty laugh.

"Now this is what I wanted. I can tell you're not holding back anymore. Come on, let me have it!"

Ichigo sighed and replied, "Holding back? Maybe I have been, but I just realized, it's better to expend my energy fighting you than suppressing it and dragging this out. So let's hurry this up and use your release mode Grimmjow."

"Are you fuckin' crazy?" he asked with a laugh. "Why would I want to do that? That would make this fight go faster. There's something you don't seem to understand Kurosaki."

He suddenly appeared above Ichigo and brought the flat of his blade come crashing down on his shoulder, sending him to the floor. "I've been waiting ten long years for this, there's no way I want this to end quickly. So like it or not, you're going to be here for a while!"

"You make it sound like that's all you've lived for," Ichigo grunted.

"Maybe so," he replied. "To be honest, I've wanted to fight you sooner, but Aizen has forced me to restrain myself. But none of that matters anymore. Now get back up and let's continue."

"Your words have always made no sense to me," Ichigo stated while standing up. "But to be honest, I'm getting pretty excited fighting you again. I don't know if it's my dark me doing it or not, but I'm ready to rumble now!"

Ichigo suddenly rushed at him, but Grimmjow parried his strike. Baring his teeth, Grimmjow brought his head colliding with Ichigo's, causing blood to spray out. While Ichigo stepped back, Grimmjow kicked him in his ribs and slashed his leg lightly. Ichigo quickly recovered and jumped to avoid Grimmjow's next strike. Before the arrancar could react, Ichigo brought his sword down on Grimmjow's left shoulder. Grimmjow roared in pain before grabbing the blade in his shoulder with his free hand, and used his sword to horizontally slice Ichigo's chest. He let go of his sword and hit the ground in a heap.

Grimmjow released Ichigo's sword from his own shoulder and threw it at the shinigami. Ichigo rose and grabbed it, making Grimmjow smile. They charged at each other and met in the middle.

"Getsuga Tensho!" the shinigami captain yelled.

Grimmjow surprisingly took the hit and grabbed Ichigo's collar through the smoke, pulling him in to his pointed blade. Ichigo reacted quickly and cut Grimmjow's hand, causing the arrancar to release him. Ichigo jumped back and saw Grimmjow standing there, bleeding from every wound on his body, but still keeping that maniacal grin.

"You're looking pretty ragged there," Ichigo smirked.

Grimmjow matched his smile with an even bigger one. "I guess that's enough beating around the bush, time to heal my wounds and show you why you can't beat me."

"_Here it comes_," Ichigo thought.

Grimmjow brought his hand up against the hilt of the sword and raked his hand across the blade. "Grind, Pantera!"

Strong gusts of wind erupted from the arrancar as he released. Grimmjow emerged from the smoke on all fours, with his even longer hair, feline look, slender whip-like tail, and a predator's gaze.

"_Don't be afraid_," Ichigo thought to himself as he saw Grimmjow's form. "_You've already fought him before and know what to expect. Just don't lose your focus_."

Grimmjow started with a vengeance as he aimed his elbow at his adversary and fired two powerful darts from them. Ichigo was surprised, but acted quickly yelling, "Getsuga Tensho!"

The blast knocked the darts away, but Ichigo's blood froze as he felt Grimmjow behind him. Raking Ichigo's back with his claws, Grimmjow roared and was ready to strike again. Ichigo turned around and struck his sword at Grimmjow's neck, but found he suffered no visible damage. Cursing himself inwardly, Ichigo jumped into the sky to try and get away.

"_Damn! How is this happening? I've mastered my Bankai and should be ten times stronger than Grimmjow's release mode. How is this possib—_"

He stopped when he saw Grimmjow above him and pierced his shoulder with his ferocious tail. Ichigo spat out blood as he pulled the item out, but was Grimmjow shooting another round of darts, one hitting his lower abdomen. Ichigo barreled to the ground due to the impact and quickly rose up, knowing it was fatal to relax for a second. He desperately looked around for any sign of Grimmjow and didn't have time to react when he appeared right in front of him with a devilish smile.

The arrancar acted quickly and forced Ichigo's head to his side, exposing the left side of his neck. Not giving Ichigo time to fight back, he sunk his razor sharp teeth into Ichigo's soft flesh, making blood spurt out.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Ichigo quickly struck Grimmjow's side with his sword, making the arrancar pull back. Ichigo grasped at his neck as Grimmjow spat out some of the shinigami's blood and smiling again.

"You can't fool me Kurosaki. I knew what you were thinking from the start," he explained. "You thought you could beat me even in my release mode. Well I hope that little demonstration proved you wrong…NOW PUT YOUR MASK ON AND LET'S REALLY GET THINGS GOING!"

Ichigo merely stood at the battle-happy arrancar with wounded eyes, breathing heavily…

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Will a wounded Ichigo be able to overcome the might of Grimmjow?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	24. Grind of the Pantera

All of Grimmjow's rage is unleashed as he and Ichigo duke it out. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**24: Grind of the Pantera**

Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Annoyance appearing on Grimmjow's face, he asked, "What the hell are you doing? Put your mask on already!"

"I can't…" Ichigo whispered.

Grimmjow blinked in disbelief. "What?"

"I CAN'T!" Ichigo roared charging at Grimmjow.

He quickly appeared in front of him and swung his sword down. Grimmjow reacted quickly and blocked the strike with his arm. Sighing, he kicked Ichigo in his exposed ribs, forcing blood out of his mouth and sending him to the floor.

While Ichigo was on the floor, Grimmjow erupted into anger. "How long are you gonna put on this fucking tough guy act?! It's clear you have no chance against me now! If you don't put your mask on, you'll die before you even face Aizen. Hurry up and do it!"

Ichigo gritted his teeth while partially standing. "Getsuga Tensho!"

As Grimmjow saw the black blast coming towards him, his face twisted into a scowl. He let out a very loud roar, shattering the blast before it even reached him. He stared back at Ichigo with bloodshot angry eyes. "That's it Kurosaki, you fucking asked for it!"

Before explaining any further, Grimmjow appeared right in front of him. Ichigo swung his sword only to have it be caught by Grimmjow. Still with a scowl, he dealt Ichigo a swift head-butt, causing Ichigo to groan in pain. Digging his claws into Ichigo's caught arm, he used his other hand to slash him across his face in a rake-like motion.

"I'm gonna force you to use your mask!" he snarled. He gripped Ichigo's arm even tighter and hurled him to the other side of the battlefield. "Stop trying to act like you're winning when you're clearly not! You make me sick Kurosaki; you don't have the pride of a warrior at all. You're just gonna let me rip you to shreds without even trying? That's the definition of spineless. How do you expect to beat Aizen if you can't even beat me?"

"Shut up," Ichigo started, rage building in his voice. "Shut the hell up Grimmjow!"

With a sudden burst of energy, the shinigami was on his feet and rushing at Grimmjow. The arrancar sighed at this sight. "Just charging recklessly won't fucking change anything!"

Before Ichigo reached Grimmjow, he put his hand over his head and pulled down his Hollow Mask. His jet black eyes stared at Grimmjow's blue ones for a second before he was on the hapless arrancar, swinging his blade mercilessly. Grimmjow attempted to block the strike with his arm, but his raw spiritual energy cut through his thick hierro. Grimmjow grunted as he was able to knock the blade away with a minor cut on his arm.

Ichigo landed a few feet away from Grimmjow and stared at him. "So what made you change your mind?" asked the grinning arrancar.

Ichigo shrugged at this. "I guess it's just our old rivalry starting again. For some reason, I don't want to lose to you, even if it means expending my energy. Get ready for a real fight Grimmjow!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Grimmjow coolly replied while striking a fighting stance.

No more words needing to be said, they rushed at each other again. Ichigo swung his sword upwards at Grimmjow's torso, but the arrancar quickly feigned and hit the ground on all fours. Acting quickly, Grimmjow swung one of his claws in a vicious upward strike, digging deeply into Ichigo's ribs. Ichigo gave an unearthly roar and brought his sword crashing down onto Grimmjow's right shoulder, cutting deep into his flesh.

Grimmjow made a quick jerk to the left, forcing Ichigo to release his grip on his sword. With the black zanpakuto still embedded in Grimmjow's shoulder, he aimed his elbow at his adversary and shot several darts at him. Ichigo used his speed to quickly jump in the air. Before he could react, however, Grimmjow was above him with Ichigo's sword in his hand. Grinning a demonic smile, he impaled Ichigo in his right shoulder. Ichigo roared in pain as he hit the floor with a thud.

Ichigo rose quickly and released his impaled sword without a second thought of pain. He quickly brandished it at the arrancar who was barreling towards the earth. Focusing all of his energy on his sword, Ichigo took careful aim at his opponent in the sky.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Grimmjow looked as if he half expected it, and struck up a defensive stance in the air. The black blast struck him horizontally on his chest. Silence reigned for a few seconds as Grimmjow lowered his guard and smiled at Ichigo.

"Reminds you of our first encounter doesn't it?" he asked with a chuckle. "Looks like I have another scar to add from our encounters."

"If I remember correctly," Ichigo replied, "someone interrupted our first fight."

"That's true; Tosen was always a meddlesome one, never caring about good fights, unlike you and I Kurosaki. I know you're feeling it too. Your blood is starting to boil from the feeling of a good fight."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the shinigami replied, looking away from his enemy.

"Bullshit!" Grimmjow replied. "You and I are on the same side of the coin, battle-loving monsters only wanting to grow stronger with each fight, and if you disagree, I really will tear out your throat this time!"

Grimmjow lowered both his hands to the ground as solidified blue energy erupted from all of his claws. Ichigo shuddered at this, knowing what it was. Grimmjow saw this and smiled at him.

"Seems you remember what this is. Prepare to fall prey to Desgarrón!"

Ichigo quickly jumped into the air and appeared behind Grimmjow with his sword ready. Grimmjow smiled as he quickly turned around and shot one hand at him. Ichigo raised his blade up vertically to block all five horizontal blue claws. Ichigo struggled keeping them back as Grimmjow simply watched with happiness.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The power of his blast shot through all of the claws, protecting him from the attack. "Not bad," Grimmjow smirked. "But…"

He was suddenly above Ichigo with his other hand ready. Making a quickly slashing motion, all five of his blue claws hit Ichigo from above on his shoulders and back. He screamed in pain as his mask shattered from the force of the blow. Surprisingly, Ichigo took one step forward and braced himself, turning around and slashing Grimmjow's chest.

Grimmjow gave a quick curse as he kicked Ichigo square across his face, sending him flying to the earth. Grimmjow lightly landed on the ground as Ichigo used his sword as a cane and stood up, bleeding everywhere and panting heavily. Grimmjow touched the wound Ichigo just inflicted and spat on the ground.

"That last attack barely did anything. Seems you truly are pathetic without your mask on. Hurry up and reform it before I decide to attack again."

Ichigo knew there was no point in wasting words on the battle-hungry arrancar, and merely obliged to his request. Letting out a deep roar, Ichigo seemed to disregard all of his wounds and appeared in front of his enemy. He thrust his sword quickly towards Grimmjow's head, but the arrancar caught it just before it reached his face.

"Is that it?" he mocked. "I thought you'd think of something better than tha—"

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo yelled.

The black blast hit Grimmjow square in his face, sending him back. Before Grimmjow could fully recover, Ichigo was on him again, slashing him across the bridge of his nose in a diagonal slash starting at the tip of his right eyebrow, and ending just before reaching his left cheek.

"Damn!" he cursed as he hopped back and charged up another Desgarrón attack.

Before he could shoot one, he sensed Ichigo behind him. Letting out a chilling roar, he slashed Grimmjow across his back. He stumbled forward a few feet before regaining his composure and jumping in the air. As soon as he was a few feet above Ichigo, he shot on set of claws down at him. Ichigo saw this coming and quickly disappeared; making the blue energy hit the floor in vain.

"Tch!" Grimmjow said as he looked around for the shinigami.

The sudden burst of energy Grimmjow felt made him look above to see Ichigo there with black energy focused on his blade. "Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled.

"Don't underestimate me!" Grimmjow yelled as he shot his other set of claws towards the blast.

They collided and exploded in a flurry of black and blue; the shockwave sent both of them flying back. Grimmjow hit the ground on all fours and skidded a few feet before stopping. He growled as he shot a few darts at the smoke towards Ichigo. Much to his surprise, he saw the darts shooting back towards him. He quickly hopped to the side to avoid them, which distracted him long enough not to notice Ichigo was at the side of him with his blade poised.

Grimmjow quickly blocked the oncoming blade with his left arm, but its power was too much for him to handle. Acting fast, he shot his whip-like take at Ichigo's face, destroying a portion of his mask and cutting his right cheek. Grimmjow panted heavily as he looked at his rival and surprisingly laughed.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" After several seconds, his laugh died down and he commented to Ichigo. "It seems you're letting your instincts take over, letting you get stronger than if you were normally in control."

"That's probably it," Ichigo replied, finally gracing him with a word. "Looks like you're finished Grimmjow."

"That's what you think," he retorted. "But you see, I have another trick up my sleeve. I decided I would only use it if you pushed me this far, and push you did. So now I can give you the privilege of seeing the fruits of my ten years labor."

To Ichigo's surprise and horror, he felt Grimmjow's spiritual power grow. Along with his massive boost in energy, his appearance was starting to change as well. The white armor covering his torso was disappearing, revealing his battle-scarred chest and his hollow hole on his stomach. His arms started to gain black fur, like his paws, but stopped at his elbows, and more muscle and sinew became visible. The blades on his arms became less visible and morphed into his arms to some degree, though still being visible and retaining their sharpness. The black fur covered from his paw-like feet up to his stomach, and stopped at the bottom of his ribcage. The claws on his hands and feet became noticeably longer as the crown-like hollow plating on his forehead disappeared completely; letting strands of his blue hair fall down on his forehead. His tailed swished dangerously as it to became black, longer, and sharper. This transformation healed all of his wounds, only leaving scars of Ichigo's attacks left.

"What…is this?" Ichigo asked with a mix of shock and realization.

"I thought you would know exactly what this is," Grimmjow said. "Aizen said that Ulquiorra showed this to you when you fought him as well."

"You don't mean…?" Ichigo stammered.

"That's right," Grimmjow smiled. "After ten years of hard training I was able to gain this power…The power of Pantera, Segunda Etapa!"

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After learning of this unsettling new truth, does Ichigo even stand a chance?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	25. Battle of the Kings

With Ichigo on the ropes, an unexpected challenger joins the battle.

**Sorry about updating so late, but school started (taking up all my time), and I won't be updating as frequently. Sorry! As an apology, here's my longest chapter to date. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**25: Battle of the Kings**

Ichigo gripped his sword tighter to try and stop his hands from shaking. Ulquiorra was the hardest enemy he ever fought, and the only one to ever have a Segunda Etapa.

"_It's alright_," Ichigo thought to himself. "_There's no way he can be stronger than Ulquiorra, I just have to stay calm_."

Grimmjow gave his enemy a smirk and asked, "How long you gonna just stand there Kurosaki? It's like you're just begging me to attack!"

Before Ichigo knew it, Grimmjow appeared behind him and sunk his claws deep into both of Ichigo's shoulders. Ichigo gave a very audible scream, but was suddenly silenced when Grimmjow yanked him backwards, sending him crashing to the floor. Grimmjow smiled at him again and stomped his foot down on Ichigo's chest with force great enough to cause cracks all around Ichigo. Blood shooting out of Ichigo's mouth stifled his scream of pain. He reacted on instinct, however, and slashed Grimmjow's foot with his sword.

Leaving no visible mark, Grimmjow just smiled and hoisted Ichigo up by his arms and stared straight into his black eyes.

"I hope you weren't thinking that this was going to be easier than your fight with Ulquiorra," he chided. "I've trained ten hard years for this day, so don't insult me by thinking I'm not as strong as him."

Ichigo gripped his sword as black energy started emanating from it. "Getsuga…"

Grimmjow cut him off with a quick but powerful head-butt, shattering Ichigo's mask completely and forcing him to drop his sword. The arrancar stared at the groaning Ichigo and asked, "Come on Kurosaki, show me that strong will power you have. I want you to rise up and at least wound me." He threw Ichigo to the ground and kicked his sword over to him. He stretched his arms out, exposing his chest and taunted, "Come on, you get one free hit. Try your best to try and wound me. I'll show you how superior I am to you!"

The shinigami captain struggled to his feet and grabbed his sword. "_Gotta focus! Focus all of your energy on this one attack. You can do it, show Grimmjow you're better than him. Do it!"_

Giving a powerful battle roar, Ichigo leapt in the air with his sword ready. Grimmjow flashed him the largest smirk just before Ichigo brought his sword crashing diagonally across his chest. To Ichigo's surprise and Grimmjow's pleasure, his black sword simply bounced off his chest and flew from Ichigo's hands with recoil.

Ichigo landed right in front of Grimmjow with surprise on his face. "Guess that's all huh?" the arrancar asked. "Oh well…"

Without warning, Grimmjow's tail shot into the lower right side of Ichigo's torso, completely impaling him. Blood shot out as the tail exited. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Grimmjow quickly silenced his scream with an upward slash across his chest. Not stopping there, Grimmjow did a quick hop and kicked Ichigo in his chin, sending him sprawling to the floor. Ichigo reached out and grabbed the handle of his sword and got on both of his knees with extreme pain.

"Tch, you really are a pathetic bastard, you know that?" Grimmjow mocked at Ichigo's prone form. "Don't you know when to quit? It's clear that you've lost this fight Ichigo Kurosaki!"

Speaking between gasps, Ichigo said something that surprised Grimmjow. "It's not over yet Grimmjow; it won't be over until you're the one lying on the ground. I will defeat you Grimmjow!" He steadied his sword and declared, "Getsuga Tensho!"

A black wave of energy shot towards Grimmjow. He simply sighed and knocked the blast away with his arm. "Defeat me? You don't have a snowballs chance in hell to defeat me Kurosaki."

Ichigo ignored his swords and persisted. "Getsuga Ten—"

He was cut off as Grimmjow appeared right in front of him and kicked his sword out of his hand. Ichigo stared at him with determination still in his eyes. Grimmjow grinned at this and commented.

"Those eyes sure piss the hell outta me Kurosaki. You still seem to have the delusion that you can win this. Let me show you why you can't win."

Just as quickly as he ended, Grimmjow plunged one of his hands straight at Ichigo's chest. He quickly pulled it out and wiped the blood across Ichigo's face. Not being able to respond, Ichigo collapsed and was unable to move.

"You're fucking finished Kurosaki," the arrancar gloated. "I've decided to let you die slow and painful while you feel the spiritual energy of your friends disappear one by one. I'll personally make sure to that. 'You'll defeat me'? You seem to forget one thing Kurosaki. While Aizen is the God of the world, I am its king." He started to walk away from his dying adversary and finished, "Don't ever forget that."

"_Get up!_" Ichigo commanded his body. "_Don't let him get away, get the hell up and beat him!_ _He won't be victorious, don't lose this battle…don't lose…_"

Much to Grimmjow's surprise, he felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure rising from behind him. He turned around and saw black energy emanating from his body. "What's this?" he asked, slightly amused.

To the arrancar's surprise, Ichigo stood up and looked at the ground. He touched his own blood Grimmjow wiped on his face and started to laugh. "_Don't lose…_" Ichigo continued thinking. "_Don't give up…_" Surprisingly, the hole Grimmjow made instantly regenerated.

"You're spiritual pressure is not like Kurosaki's at all. Who the hell are you?" Grimmjow gritted through his teeth.

"**Who am I?**" Ichigo repeated. He suddenly looked up at Grimmjow with his jet black eyes, revealing it was Ichigo's hollow side taking over and declared, "**I'm the one true king!**"

"**_You did well, now leave the rest up to me_**," Ichigo heard in his head.

"_No, not now…I don't need you know…just go away…_"

"**_Sleep Ichigo Kurosaki, let me take care of the rest. Sleep…_**"

Without any explanation, a mask appeared on the left side of Ichigo's face. It bared some resemblance to his hollow mask, a large horn was jutting out of the mask and a single black stripe went down the eye portion of the mask.

"The one true king, eh?" Grimmjow repeated. "Sorry, but that title's reserved for me!"

Ichigo's hollow form cackled at this and replied, "**Then I guess we're just gonna have to fight for the title then!**"

Grimmjow clenched his fists as Ichigo's hollow side brought his sword to his hand using telepathy. "Whether you're Ichigo or not," Grimmjow started, "I don't give a shit. All I know is that there's a good fight to be had here!"

"**Funny, I was just thinking the same thing!**"

Without exchanging any more words, the two rushed at each other at speeds no mortal eye could follow. Grimmjow struck first by bringing his claws down towards Hollow Ichigo's head. He simply smiled at this and suddenly appeared behind the surprised Grimmjow. He gave a quick snarl and hopped into the air, shooting three darts from his arms towards his mysterious opponent.

Hollow Ichigo gave a quick audible laugh and disappeared, leaving the darts to utterly demolish the floor instead. Before Grimmjow could react, Hollow Ichigo was above him with his sword raised high over his head. He brought it crashing down with lethal force, causing it to sink into the arrancar's shoulder. Blood shot out as Grimmjow grabbed Hollow Ichigo's arm and pulled him closer, only to push him back with a quick kick to his torso.

"_He was able to slip through my Pesquisa,_" Grimmjow thought. "_No shinigami should be able to escape my heightened senses, especially in this state, so how is he doing it?_"

"**I can tell what you're thinking**," Hollow Ichigo gloated. "**You're wondering how I'm able to get by you without so much as alerting you, am I wrong? Well to answer your question, I'm not using Shunpo, which is why it's impossible for you to tell where I am.**"

"But with my heightened senses, I should even be able to track arrancars who use Sonido!" Grimmjow snarled back. "So don't tell me all this bullshit about not using Shunpo!"

"**When did I say I was using Sonido?**" the Hollow smirked.

"What?"

"**I'm a very strange person,**" Hollow Ichigo explained. "**Even I'm not quite sure what I am, but I have a theory. You see, I am not a shinigami, hollow, arrancar, or Vizard. I believe I'm a mix of all four, so when I'm using my incredible speed, it is neither Sonido nor Shunpo, it is simply a mix.**"

"Stop fucking around!" an angered Grimmjow yelled. "It doesn't matter what speed technique you use, you still can't beat me!"

"**That wound on your shoulder tells a different story, but let's put that aside for now, and simply continue.**"

Grimmjow didn't even respond. He simply appeared straight in front of Hollow Ichigo and aimed at his heart. His enemy, however, was quick to respond and brought his sword up swiftly, knocking his arm away. Not wasting any time, Hollow Ichigo swung his sword upward, slicing open Grimmjow's chest. He gave an audible grunt, but quickly used Sonido to appear above the pseudo-hollow, his claws giving off visible blue energy.

"Desgarrón!" he declared, swinging both his claws down in the shape of an X, sending both energy streams down at him.

"**Let me show you how to properly use your attacks,**" Hollow Ichigo said to himself. "**Getsuga Tensho!**"

The largest Getsuga Tensho Grimmjow had ever seen shot towards him and lightning speed, utterly shattering Grimmjow's Desgarrón. With a mix of shock and poor reaction time, the blast hit Grimmjow dead on. His scream was stifled by the thickness of the spirit energy surrounding him. Hollow Ichigo stood still for a few seconds after the attack. He gave a small chuckle and talked to himself.

"**Tough one to finish off, huh?**"

"Fuck you!" he heard from behind him. Hollow Ichigo simply responded by dodging his attack.

The possessed Ichigo quickly turned around and thrusted his sword straight into Grimmjow's shoulder. Grimmjow used one hand to hold the sword in, and used the other hand to charge another Desgarrón. Just as quickly as he summoned it, he shot it at his enemy, utterly slashing open his chest and sending him back a few feet. Grimmjow panted and stared at Hollow Ichigo angrily. Much to the arrancar's surprise, his enemy started laughing.

"**So it looks like you're not a total novice at fighting,**" he chided. "**While your attack hurts, a little pain gets me going. Now come here and let's finish this!**"

"Like hell I'll do that," Grimmjow retorted. He held up his right hand as a blue cero started charging up in it. "I just think I'll blow you away with my strongest attack, my Cero Oscuras!"

"**As if a weakling like you could use a proper Cero Oscuras**," the Hollow mocked. He pointed his head down slightly so that the horn on his mask was pointing to Grimmjow. A cero started to charge on top of it. "**Let's compare Ceros, and see whose is better, shall we?**"

Grimmjow smirked at this with confidence and replied, "Fine by me."

In the blink of an eye, they both released their ceros at each other. Both hit their target and resulted in a massive explosion, one larger than the other. A few seconds after impact, Grimmjow jumped out of the smoke, clearly wounded by his opponent's attack. He spat up blood and cursed his enemy.

"Damn him! Where the fuck is he?!"

Grimmjow's blood turned to ice when he heard the voice behind him. "**Now that was a good attack.**" The arrancar looked behind him to see Hollow Ichigo standing there, a large crack running vertically across his mask, with another Cero Oscuras charging on the tip of his horn. "**It even put a crack in my mask, but I'm afraid you're finished now arrancar!**"

"Fuck!" Grimmjow stammered before Hollow Ichigo released his attack.

Grimmjow's body barreled to the floor and ridiculous speeds, making large cracks to the already destroyed street when he landed. He was panting heavily, blood flowing everywhere, as he desperately looking around for his adversary. He let out a startled gasp as he saw who he was looking for appear right in front of him with a psychotic grin on his face.

Striking fast and striking hard, Hollow Ichigo quickly slashed both of Grimmjow's lets, and cut across his chest. "**Getsuga Tensho!**" he declared, engulfing Grimmjow in the black attack.

Grimmjow was not beaten yet though, as he quickly shot a claw out, hitting the bottom half of Hollow Ichigo's mask, shattering it completely.

"Cero!" the desperate arrancar yelled.

The blue blast hit Hollow Ichigo square in his face, but he didn't lose any ground, as he brought his head back to its original position, with the top half of his mask cracking every second. The hollow ended it when he stabbed his sword right into Grimmjow's right pectoral. He spat out blood as he staggered back a few paces, releasing the sword from his body.

Grimmjow could feel his power fading as his Resurreccion started to disengage. When his powers completely returned to his sword, he fell backwards on his back. He stared at the sky and cursed his predicament.

"Can't believe I wasn't even beaten by my own enemy, just some psychotic version of him."

Hollow Ichigo stepped on his chest, causing him more pain and smiled at him. "**It would be foolish to think of us as different people. He and I are one together, and if he dies, I die, which is why I decided to show up in the first place.**"

"Ha ha…" Grimmjow surprisingly laughed. "Even if you beat me, your defeat is final. Soul Society will be destroyed by the hands of Aizen himself, and even you don't stand a chance against him."

"**I don't give a damn about Soul Society and I don't know who this Aizen is, but when I personally send him to Hell, I'll give him a message to give to you, don't worry. But time is short and I'm afraid I must end this now.**"

A cero charged on the top of the mask's horn and aimed straight at Grimmjow. The defeated arrancar closed his eyes and accepted his fate, but an audible grunt from his enemy made him open his eyes again. Hollow Ichigo stepped away from Grimmjow and put his hands against his head.

"**Guess it's the strain of fighting you for so long, looks like I gotta go,**" the hollow explained. "**My job here's done anyway; I'll let him take care of the rest.**"

With that, the mask completely shattered, and Ichigo stood there dumbfounded, staring at the defeated Grimmjow. He looked around and asked, "What the hell happened?"

"Your hollow side took over," Grimmjow explained, "and soundly fucked me up."

"Damn it," Ichigo said quietly, knowing what his words meant. "I'm sorry Grimmjow, but this wasn't the way it was supposed to be."

"A little late for apologies now," Grimmjow snorted. "It's all over anyway, so just finish me off."

"I won't do it," Ichigo bluntly stated.

"Huh?"

"My inner hollow wasn't supposed to interfere," Ichigo replied, "and denied you a fair fight."

"Cut the shit!" Grimmjow angrily replied through more blood. "You know damn well you wouldn't have won if he didn't interfere!"

"Maybe so," Ichigo said turning around, "but I can't in all good conscience kill you now. I won't kill you, but I can't save you either, so I suggest you get out of here before someone who's not so noble." He then started walking away.

"WAIT! WAIT GOD DAMN YOU! GET BACK HERE AND FUCKING FINISH ME OFF! KUROSAKI!"

Ichigo ignored his screaming opponent and used shunpo to disappear, leaving his opponent to cry out his commands to himself. He went a good distance before he landed in front of the 4th Division headquarters. Captain Unohana was showing wounded shinigami in when she noticed Ichigo.

"Well I didn't expect to see you come here willingly Captain," she smiled. She noticed his egregious wounds and inquired, "And who gave you those?"

"Long story," Ichigo replied. "I'll explain it later, but I need you to heal me as fast as possible so I can get back out there."

"Of course," she said, signaling him to come in. "I'll personally see to you and get you back to your old self before you knew it."

"Thanks," Ichigo quietly said while walking to the door. Before he entered, he heard a scream in the distance and closed his eyes while bringing his head down. "Sorry Grimmjow, maybe some other time," he said so quietly that even Captain Unohana didn't hear him.

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With Ichigo getting healed, what's going to happen next?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	26. Lieutenants vs Superchunky from Hell

While Ichigo and his fellow captains recover, it's up to the Lieutenants to take out Superchunky. Enjoy!

**As a note, I'm well aware that his name is Fura and not Superchunky, but I wrote him in at a time where I didn't know, so it would be weird to change it now.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**26: Gotei Lieutenants vs. Superchunky from Hell**

Massive hands smashed all buildings in its vicinity, as Superchunky gave a massive unearthly roar. Rukia heard the same roar while running towards her gargantuan enemy, still half in his garganta. She arrived on the outskirts of the destroyed section of Soul Society where the hollow was residing. She sighed when she saw the destruction he was causing and his massive size.

"Maybe I shouldn't have gone alone," she said dolefully to herself. "I had no idea the enemy would be this big. Oh well…Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

Her black-hilted zanpakuto transformed into a completely white blade, the ribbon on the back flowing artfully. She quickly used shunpo to appear close enough to attack, but not close enough to get noticed.

"Well, here goes nothing. Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

Rukia punctured the ground four times, making a semi-circle in front of her. Unfortunately, this drew Superchunky's attention, and he let out a roar and reached his hand out towards her. He was too late as Rukia released a white wave of ice towards the monstrous hand, instantly freezing it.

Superchunky paused for a minute as he looked at his frozen hand. Realizing now what he was in, he started to shake it around furiously in hopes of destroying it. He then slammed it into the ground in front of him, shattering the bonds of ice. He then looked at Rukia with anger in his single eye and launched an attack.

Rukia quickly escaped the attack, using shunpo and suddenly appear above her confused enemy. She pointed her free hand at the top of the hollow's head and recited, "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado 33: Sokatsui!"

Superchunky didn't even move as the blue waves of energy shot down on his head. A massive explosion erupted, followed by his scream. Rukia landed a good distance away and waited for the smoke to clear. Surprise showed on her face when she found Superchunky unharmed from her attack.

"Great…" she commented before disappearing to the side of her enemy.

She gave his arm a quick slash with her sword to see it barely leave a nick on his skin. Superchunky swung his arm towards her, but she jumped away and landed unharmed. "Just as I thought," she said, inspecting her blade. "His skin's very thick and tough. I'll have to use more powerful attacks to finish him off."

Superchunky saw her and started slamming his fists on the ground rhythmically. After several seconds, he pointed his head to the ground and spewed out black liquid with white chunks inside of them. It took a second, but the blobs formed into five gillian, all staring at the shinigami.

"Damn!" Rukia cursed as she quickly stabbed the ground. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

An ice wave hit all five of the gillian freezing them in place. The ice began to shake, however, signaling to Rukia that their bonds were loosening.

"Gotta hit 'em quick," she said to herself. She quickly dropped her sword and pointed both hands at her hands at the frozen gillian in front of Superchunky. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of—"

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Rukia heard a voice say, cutting off her chant.

A segmented blade suddenly came out of nowhere and pierced all five gillian in a row, killing them all instantly. Rukia turned around to see the blade returning to Renji, with Hisagi and Hinamori right beside him. He smiled and gave her a small gesture.

"Hey!"

Rukia quickly picked up her sword and used shunpo to appear in front of the trio. Just as quickly as she appeared, she hit Renji over the head with anger. "What the hell was that for?!" he asked while rubbing his head.

"Why do you always have to enter in a flashy way?" she retorted. "If you were smart, you would have seen I was about to hit him with Soten Sokatsui, which would have killed them and wounded the enemy. Instead of attacking from behind, you enter in a flashy way, exposing all three of you."

"Calm down Rukia," Hisagi tried to intervene. "You know attacking from behind's not Renji's style."

"I know; that's why he's so frustrating!"

"Let's all just stay calm, okay?" Hinamori said, trying to stop the infighting.

"Why are you here anyway?" Rukia asked with a hint of anger still in her voice.

"When this guy first appeared, Captain Kuchiki told me to go attack it before disappearing. On the way, I met up with Hisagi and Hinamori, who had the same orders, so we all went along together," Renji explained. "Now that that's out of the way, let's focus on this big guy here."

All four lieutenants stared at Superchunky, who looked witlessly back at them. Realizing he had their attention, he took a deep breath and released it towards the enemy. "Out of the way!" Rukia said with danger.

All four of them quickly jumped into the air above the breath, landing a safe distance away. Meanwhile, all of the grass and vegetation caught up in the breath shriveled up and died.

"Don't let that touch you," Hisagi warned. "We need some kind of strategy."

"Here's the strategy," Renji stated. "You and me attack front, Rukia and Hinamori take his back with kido spells."

"Why are we stuck with just the spells?" Rukia complained. "I can take the front as well."

Her voice fell upon deaf ears as Renji and Hisagi already departed towards their enemy. A visible vein popped up on her forehead as Hinamori tried to comfort her. "Renji only gave us that task because he knew we're both good at kido. Let's hurry."

"Fine," Rukia sighed in defeat.

Renji roared as he swung his blade towards Superchunky. It hit his arm as Hisagi went down the middle, and went for his eye. Before he could get close enough, however, Superchunky blew his breath at him, forcing him to take another route. Renji's blade came back to him as he jumped in the air and shot it down at his head. The sword caught a few strands of the hollows hair before he looked up at him and started to charge a cero on his single eye.

He was about to shoot it at his enemy when he sensed both Hinamori and Rukia behind him, charging their attacks. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens. Hado 63: Soren Sokatsui!" Rukia chanted.

"Burst Tobiume!" Hinamori shouted at the same time, charging a huge fireball on the tip of her newly transformed sword.

Superchunky sensed the danger and quickly retreated back in his massive garganta before the two kido spells hit him, finding their marks with the ground instead. "Damn!" Renji cursed. "He retreated!"

He was so focused on the fact that the hollow disappeared he didn't notice the massive garganta appearing behind him with Superchunky inside of it. "Look out Renji!" Rukia yelled.

Renji turned around in time to avoid the massive hand coming down on him. "Bastard!" he said as he swung his sword, causing a small wound on his chest.

The blade quickly retracted as Renji jumped away from his enemy. Hisagi, Rukia, and Hinamori joined him, all wondering what they were going to do. "He's getting smart," Rukia explained. "He is using that garganta to his advantage to avoid our attack and sneak up on us when we don't expect it."

"Well that's just fantastic," Renji sarcastically replied. "But his skin's so tough Zabimaru can't cut him."

Superchunky decided not to wait around anymore as he spat out more gillian at his enemy. They quickly formed and went towards the shinigami. They all sighed with frustration before going to confront the enemy that was brought before them. Rukia froze three of them before smashing them angrily with her sword, while Renji used his sword to his advantage and took four out at one time. Hisagi avoided a cero shot by one and stabbed it right in its mask before moving on to the next one, while Hinamori shot several blasts at several gillian heads, destroying them all. When they were destroyed, all four lieutenants appeared by each other again.

"We can't do this forever," Renji angrily said. "We need a solid plan."

"Well if we can't cut his hide, we just have to aim for his eye," Hinamori suggested. "There's no way we can't cut that."

"But how?" Rukia asked. "He'll just charge up a cero and hit us before we get to his eye."

"I think I have a way to get him wide open," Hisagi chimed in. "Please bear with me for a second while I explain it."

A few seconds later, Rukia and Hinamori disappeared while Hisagi and Renji charged straight towards Superchunky. Slightly confused, he blocked Hisagi's attack as Renji's attack just bounced off of his skin. He then felt the presence of the two other shinigami again, both of them charging kido blasts. Repeating what he did last time, Superchunky retreated into his garganta. All four shinigami spread out, waiting to see which one the hollow would decide to attack.

A giant garganta appeared behind Rukia, and she knew it right away. "Now!" she screamed to her allies.

"Reap, Kazeshini!" Hisagi declared as his sword separated into two scythes. He quickly moved in and wrapped both of his swords around Superchunky's massive right arm. Not wasting anytime, he said, "Hado 11: Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Electricity shot through both of his chains, temporarily stunning Superchunky. Renji knew it was the time as he hopped into the air and shot his sword towards Superchunky's exposed eye.

Unfortunately for the shinigami, Superchunky recovered faster than anticipated and swung his captured right arm towards him, sending Hisagi flying straight at Renji. He collided with his friend before Zabimaru could reach its intended target.

"Renji, Hisagi!" Rukia yelled running towards her fallen friends.

The massive hollow didn't want to waste anymore time, so he reached his arm out and grabbed the sprinting Rukia, trapping her within his grip. "Shit! Rukia!" Renji yelled as he jumped towards Superchunky.

He didn't have time to maneuver in the air as Superchunky's other arm reached out and grabbed him. Both lieutenants struggled to get out of his massive grip, but found no avail.

"Hold on guys!" Hinamori yelled as she charged several fireballs on her sword.

She shot them all desperately, but it didn't faze Superchunky at all. He simply stared at his two prisoners as he brought them close together. Without so much as a second thought, he threw both Rukia and Renji towards his mouth, and swallowed them whole.

"NOOOOOO!" Hinamori yelled before getting knocked away by Superchunky's hand.

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Both Rukia and Renji landed in Superchunky at the same time. They both quickly realized where they were and struggled to find some dry land. They found refuge on a small island that wasn't covered in black ooze.

"Well then…" Renji started. "What the hell just happened?"

"I guess he ate us," Rukia bluntly replied.

"Ate us huh?" Renji said with an ironic tone in his voice. "So how the hell do we get out?"

"Why are you asking me?" Rukia replied in a calm manner.

Both shinigami stopped staring at each other and strained to look through the darkness, desperate to find a way out.

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Trapped in the monstrous hollow's stomach, how will Rukia and Renji escape?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	27. In the Guts of the Glutton

Renji and Rukia must escape from Superchunky's massive stomach. Enjoy!

**Sorry if this chapter's a little short, but the whole Superchunky fight was originally one chapter, until I got the idea to get Renji and Rukia eaten on the spot. In heinsight, it wasn't the most planned out idea, but I did my best with it.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**27: In the Guts of the Glutton**

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Renji yelled as he swung Zabimaru at Superchunky's stomach. He sighed as it bounced off and the blade returned to him. "Alright, let's try it again! RAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Stop it you idiot," Rukia calmly said when she saw that his second attack had the same result as the first. "It's clear that's not doing anything."

"How the hell's his insides as tough as his skin?!" Renji asked in anger.

Rukia shrugged at this as Renji muttered something under his breath in anger. He looked at the black ooze surrounding them on their small island. "So does he eat those gillian, or make them naturally?"

Rukia shrugged at this and replied, "Well he is technically a hollow, so I suppose he could eat other hollows, but I'm not really sure. If he does eat them, he is able to take control of them and regurgitate them afterward."

Renji sighed as his eyes started to adjust to the darkness better. "Well, nothin' ventured, nothin' gained," he said starting to step off the island. "Might as well go take a look around."

"Are you stupid?" Rukia said with a concerned voice now. "You could very easily die."

"We'll die here if we wait too long," Renji retorted. "We gotta find a way to get out of here and fast!"

The ground suddenly started to shake and both shinigami heard the roar of Superchunky from the outside. Before Renji could get into the black ooze, it started to shift and took the form of a gillian right in front of him.

"What the…" the shinigami said. "He can form gillian inside his own stomach? How big is this guy?"

The gillian started to charge a cero quickly and shot it at the two. Both of them dodged out of the way and it hit Superchunky's stomach. Renji quickly swung Zabimaru at the gillian's face, killing it and making it sink back into the ooze.

Renji looked behind at where the cero hit and saw his stomach unharmed. "Well I guess after getting hit with so many ceros, the insides of his stomach have naturally hardened," Renji explained.

"Renji, move," Rukia said pushing him out of the way. "Hado 4: Byakurai!"

A white beam shot out of her finger and hit the wall by them. Surprisingly, the ground started to shake, knocking both Renji and Rukia on the ground. "It seems kido can harm him to some extent. Looks like I'll have to hit him with a harder one."

Just as Rukia was about to charge up another attack, the black ooze all around them started to bubble. Rukia quickly stopped her attack and picked up her sword.

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" she declared, sending ice to freeze over the black liquid in front of her.

"Nice thinking," Renji said to her with a smile.

Unfortunately, his optimism didn't last long as the ice started to crumble and broke from the force of all of the gillian rising up. "Shit!" Renji stated. "Got not choice. Bankai, Hihio Zabimaru!"

Renji transformed quickly alongside his snake-like skeleton. "Hikotsu Taiho!" he yelled as his companion shot a large red blast at the gillian, taking out several of them.

Rukia quickly hopped to his side and shot another Byakurai spell at one of them, killing it instantly. Both attacks went through their enemies and hit Superchunky's stomach, causing him to roar and shake around a lot. Swinging his Bankai in a wide arc, Renji killed the remaining gillian as they all sunk back down into the ooze.

"This is hopeless," Renji said. "They'll just keep reforming after falling back into that damn ooze. We gotta find a way out of here and fast!"

"I think I have a way," Rukia said cheerily.

"How?"

"Gag reflex," she bluntly replied.

"Huh?"

"In short, vomit."

"Hell no! There's no way I'm leaving that way!" Renji yelled to his companion.

"It's either that or the other way, and I know you don't want to do that," Rukia bluntly stated.

Renji thought for a second and sighed. "Fine. So what do we do?"

Rukia pointed above her, to the seemingly endless darkness in the sky. "We try and hit his uvula."

"So it's basically a shot in the dark," Renji pointed out.

"Basically."

"Argh! This sucks!" Renji complained while pointing his Bankai up to the sky. He looked at Rukia and finished, "Tell me when you're ready."

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado 33: Sokatsui!"

"Hikotsu Taiho!"

Both Kido and Bankai blasts flew upward and hit something very high up. It was followed by a massive roar and the strongest rumbling they've felt yet. Suddenly, some of the black liquid started to move upward.

"Quickly, get in there!" Rukia yelled.

Both shinigami jumped into the liquid just as it lifted up, sending them flying into the air. After several seconds, they saw a light and were suddenly free falling down to the ground. They hit it with a thud and quickly scrambled to get out of the liquid before the gillian reformed.

They quickly ran over to the confused Hinamori and Hisagi breathing heavily with bits of black ooze on their clothing. "What the hell?" Hisagi asked with confusion. "Did you guys just—"

"Don't ask," Renji cut him off, only to earn a quick smack on the back of the head from Rukia.

"We got trapped in his stomach, fought some gillian, and hit his uvula to make him puke us out, and now we're here. Anything else?"

"No, that's good enough," Hisagi said, feeling slightly intimidated.

Hinamori suddenly threw herself onto Rukia with a powerful hug. "I'm so glad you're both safe!" she cheerfully said with tears in her eyes. "I thought that thing ate you for good."

"Fortunately for us, he doesn't really chew his food," Renji jokingly stated.

The sudden roar from the gillian behind them broke up their reunion. Without warning, both Rukia and Renji turned around and angrily yelled at the towering figures.

"SHUT UP!"

They both then quickly leapt at their enemy with anger in their movement, viciously destroying all of the gillian in their sight. "Should we help them?" Hinamori timidly asked.

"They'll be fine," Hisagi replied.

When the last gillian was destroyed, Superchunky shot his deadly breath at both the fighters, causing them to retreat back to their comrades. With anger still clearly in them, Renji yelled, "I've had enough of this guy! Let's just find a way to kill him fast!"

"I think I have a foolproof plan this time," Rukia said to her companions. "Unlike last time, this one doesn't have a chance at failure."

Superchunky lazily stared up at the full moon with a bored look in his eye. A roar from Hinamori, however, brought him back to reality. He looked down and saw her charging her largest fireball yet and shooting it straight at his eye. He quickly charged a small cero on his eye and shot it at the oncoming fireball, destroying both of them in a large explosion.

As if on cue, Hisagi swung both of his twin scythes into both of Superchunky's arms. He roared in pain while Hisagi stated, "Hado 11: Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Lightning traveled quickly through his metal chains and temporarily shocked Superchunky. Hisagi took advantage of this and used his full strength to hit both of his hands together in front of his massive stomach. "Now!" he yelled to Rukia, who was already above the giant hollow.

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" Rukia yelled as a wave of ice shot through her sword and hit both of Superchunky's hands, freezing them together.

Superchunky stared at his hands in shock while he tried to break their bonds. While in this focused mode, he didn't even notice Renji was in the air above him, charging another powerful attack.

"Hikotsu Taiho!" he yelled, sending a massive red attack at Superchunky's eye.

He heard the noise and quickly looked up and tried to charge a cero, but was too late as Renji's attack hit his charging attack, resulting in a massive explosion and causing Superchunky to recoil in pain, letting out an unearthly roar.

He quickly broke the ice his hands were encased in and pulled back into his garganta, covering his single eye and still letting out a painful roar. The garganta quickly closed, leaving all four shinigami standing there in victory.

"I don't think he'll be coming back," Rukia said triumphantly.

"Looks like his eye was his weak point; glad it worked out for us," Hinamori replied happily.

"I just wish it killed him instead of just wounded him," Renji angrily stated. "I hope that bastard rots in hell!"

"It's not like it was so bad," Rukia said with a smirk.

"I want all the details now," Hisagi laughed. "Tell me everything about being in a hollows stomach."

"I'll never let anyone know of that humiliating trip ever!" replied Renji. "As far as this goes, that never happened."

"I'm sure you'll let us know after a couple of drinks," Hisagi said. "Soon, all of Soul Society will know of it."

"I'd never do that," Renji proudly stated.

"Who says I won't tell anyone?" Rukia asked.

Renji quickly turned on her. "Who would you want to tell anyway?!"

"I'm sure Ichigo would find it interesting," replied a calm Rukia.

"Argh!" a frustrated Renji yelled. "If you tell anyone I'll kill you!"

Any more of his angered yells was drowned out by everyone else's laughter.

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Back in Sereitei, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, and Gin moved far away from Aizen and Yamamoto's battle. Gin's smiling face met with Hitsugaya and Matsumoto's stern ones.

"Why do you have to stare at me like that?" Gin asked. "You're makin' me feel like the bad guy here."

"You are the bad guy," Hitsugaya stated.

"Only in your minds," retorted Gin. "In my mind, everyone in Soul Society are the evil ones; but I waste my breath on someone like you. Let's just finish what we started so many years ago Captain Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya remembered his first fight with Gin before he defected all those years ago. He suddenly remember all the pain he caused Hinamori and roared with anger. "I'm going to kill you right here Ichimaru!" he said with hate in his eyes.

Gin simply smirked back and replied, "I like those eyes; it's gettin' me all revved up for a battle!"

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It's time for them to finally fight, the battle between good and mysterious.

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	28. The Dragon, the Cat, and the Fox

It's a face off between Captain, Lieutenant, and traitor. Enjoy!

**While writing this, I was wondering if Gin actually says his Shikai command every time he wants to extend his blade, or does he only say it once and can do it whenever he wishes after that? I chose the former, but it seems like it would be inconvenient in a battle. Oh well.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**28: The Ice Dragon, the Ash Cat, and the Silver Fox**

"I hope you will not be hesitant in this fight Matsumoto," Captain Hitsugaya whispered to her.

His lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto nodded and responded, "Don't worry Captain; I know what must be done."

Gin kept his wide mocking smile as he drew his wakizashi and said, "Come on then, you must be ready to back up your harsh words Captain Hitsugaya."

"Fine," Hitsugaya quietly responded.

Before Gin knew it, the 10th Division Captain was above him, declaring, "Hado 63: Raikoho!"

Gin narrowly avoided the yellow kido bolt that shot from Hitsugaya's palms. "Starting with kido from the get-go? You must be serious," Gin muttered under his breath.

He quickly sensed Matsumoto coming at him and brought his blade up to parry her. His eyes stared into hers as he smiled, "Long time no see Rangiku. Sorry we have to meet under such circumstances. I really do wish it could have turned out better."

"Then why did you team up with Aizen to begin with?!" Matsumoto angrily demanded. "You had a perfect life in Soul Society, but you threw it all away! Why?"

"It would be pointless to explain now," Gin said, losing his smirk for a few seconds. "Just know that I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough!" Matsumoto declared, pushing Gin away.

Gin took a few steps back and replied, "Maybe not, but it'll have to do for now. After all, your Captain seems impatient."

As soon as Gin finished his sentence, Hitsugaya was behind him with his sword drawn to strike. The Ex-Captain quickly turned around and parried his blow. He put his smile back on his face while addressing him.

"There's anger in your moves," he explained. "Don't you know that business isn't personal?"

"There's nothing business-like about this!" Hitsugaya retorted. "It's time for you to pay for your betrayal."

Gin quickly used shunpo to appear behind Hitsugaya and brought his wakizashi down on him. Hitsugaya, however, reacted quickly and side stepped the strike. Not wasting any time, the 10th Division Captain ran towards the unprotected Gin. With a smile on his face, the silver-haired shinigami put his hand out towards the captain.

"Hado 1: Sho!"

Sending a burst of energy his way, Hitsugaya was suddenly pushed back. He seemed angry at this and disappeared from sight. It didn't take long for Gin to notice where he was and jump to avoid his strike from the air.

As soon as their swords connected, they separated again, both shinigami jumping back before striking again. Meanwhile, Matsumoto watched them from the ground and contemplated what to do. Both fighters soon hit the ground running and immediately went at it again. They locked blades as Hitsugaya's angry eyes met Gin's closed ones.

"You keep worrying about Rangiku aren't you?" he asked with a cheery tone. "That's not showing good faith in your lieutenant. Do you think she's gonna side with me or somethin'?"

"Not really," Hitsugaya coolly replied. "I'm just trying to give her orders while fighting you."

After that was said, Gin felt Matsumoto's sword pressing against his throat. He didn't show any different emotions as Hitsugaya pulled away and smiled triumphantly at him. "You should have been paying more attention Ichimaru. Looks like you've lost."

"I would hardly put it like that," Gin retorted before using shunpo to escape Matsumoto's grasp.

Hitsugaya cursed under his breath as he looked at Matsumoto. "What's wrong? I know you could have easily stopped him; why did you let him go?"

Several seconds of silence gave Hitsugaya his answer. "I see," he said quietly. "That's fine, just let me handle Ichimaru then."

Gin suddenly appeared a few feet away from Hitsugaya with a question. "I was expecting you to chase me; what happened?"

"None of your business!" Hitsugaya angrily replied before jumping into the air. "Let's finish this Ichimaru! Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

With that phrase, a large ice dragon flew from Hitsugaya's sword barreling towards Gin. The Ex-Captain simply smiled at this and cocked his arm back. "Shoot to Kill, Shinso!"

His zanpakuto suddenly extended at devastating speed, going straight through Hitsugaya's ice dragon and grazing his arm. The power of the blow sent him to the ground with a crash.

"Captain!" Matsumoto shouted when she realized what just happened. She suddenly looked at Gin and yelled, "Growl, Haineko!"

Her sword suddenly dissolved into ash and started flying towards Gin. He looked at her with an earnest face. "Sorry," was all he said.

He suddenly shot his blade towards the ash, scattering it all to the wind and going towards Matsumoto in the process. She realized the danger and jumped back, but the blade kept following her. The sword was about to hit her when Hitsugaya's ice dragon came between them and froze the blade over, saving Matsumoto.

Gin's zanpakuto quickly flew back to its normal size as he looked up at Hitsugaya with an even angrier expression than before. Gin's smile grew a bit wider when seeing him as the ice on his blade suddenly shattered, returning his zanpakuto to normal.

"You always find a way to ruin the fun don't you Captain?" he mockingly asked.

"Shut up!" he roared slashing the ground, making a wave of ice fly towards Gin.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho."

A massive red ball of energy shot out of Gin's hand and hit the ice wave dead on, destroying it. The explosion distracted the former captain for a second, causing Hitsugaya to appear to his side, and swinging his chain blade at his enemy's neck. Gin reacted quickly and brought up his right arm to take his neck's place.

Ice immediately started to form on his arm, but Gin's smirked even wider at Hitsugaya and used his strength to pull his yank his freezing arm, pulling Hitsugaya closer to him. With his other hand, he aimed his zanpakuto at the 10th Division Captain and quickly declared, "Shoot to Kill Shinso."

The blade shot out with amazing speed and would have impaled Hitsugaya had a wall of ash came between him and the blade, slowing it down on impact. "Thanks Matsumoto," Hitsugaya quickly said before and jumping in the air to avoid the sword that was about to skewer him.

While in the air, Hitsugaya decided it was necessary. "Bankai, Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"  
Ice from Hitsugaya's sword flew onto him, making the shape of a dragon and granting him wings. Apparently amused with this spectacle, Gin commented, "Haven't seen that for a while, and man, it still scares me every time I see it."

Hitsugaya didn't bother with a reply as he summoned a huge dragon with his sword, complete with wings, that flew towards Ichimaru. He realized the danger and yelled, "Shoot to Kill Shinso!"

The ice dragon roared and moved to the side to avoid it, but Gin's blade pierced his wing, destroying it and sending him off course and barreling to the ground, shattering on contact.

Gin didn't stop his sword there, however. He maneuvered it to go towards Hitsugaya, who deftly dodged it and flew to the ground with his sword ready to strike. Gin quickly retracted his blade and used it to parry Hitsugaya's sword. Not wasting any time, Hitsugaya used one of his ice wings to blindside Gin, sending him into a wall with a crash.

Before the smoke fully cleared, Gin's zanpakuto shot out again towards Hitsugaya. He jumped in the air to avoid it, but it still followed him. Once again, a wall of ash came between the sword and Hitsugaya, causing Gin to sigh, retracting his blade.

He turned to Matsumoto. "Could you please stop interfering Rangiku?"

Matsumoto didn't wait long before replying, "Forgive me Gin, but I cannot allow you to hurt my captain."

Before Gin could even respond, a tornado of ash surrounded him and closed in on him. "My my, how will I get out of this one?"

The ash then enveloped him with a vengeance, causing a small explosion. Matsumoto let the ash scatter, only to reveal Gin, completely surrounded by his own blade, shielding him from damage. When he was sure the ash was gone, the blade went back to its normal form.

"Surprised?" Gin asked Matsumoto. "You shouldn't be. If it can extend to such a length for attack, why can't it cover me for defense? It makes perfect sense if you think about it."

Hitsugaya landed next to his lieutenant as they both stared at Gin with determination. "Don't look at me like that," he requested. "Acting like you're giving your all is making me want to do it as well."

"Back me up Matsumoto," Hitsugaya ordered.

His lieutenant nodded as her captain moved. Gin was able to parry Hitsugaya's first strike, but the shinigami captain quickly used shunpo to appear behind Gin. He was able to cut Gin's shoulder, but Gin staggered forward, braced himself, and turned around with his sword pointed at Hitsugaya.

"Shoot to Kill Shinso!"

The blade was so close to Hitsugaya that it cut open his cheek and demolished his left ice wing. Hitsugaya hopped back as soon as Gin noticed a large amount of ash behind him. He quickly jumped in the air and realized Hitsugaya was coming in from behind him with a newly reformed wing. He quickly turned around and said, "Bakudo 4: Hainawa!"

An electric rope shot out of Gin's hands and bound Hitsugaya. Gin gave a small chuckle as he pulled on the other end of the rope, sending Hitsugaya colliding with Matsumoto. The two shinigami quickly recovered and looked up to see Gin gone.

"Where is he?" Matsumoto asked looking around desperately.

"Look out!" Hitsugaya said, pushing Matsumoto aside.

No sooner than he pushed her away, he was suddenly impaled through his left shoulder, sending throwing Hitsugaya to the floor in a heap. "Captain!" Matsumoto yelled running to his aid.

She helped her captain up quickly, only to feel Gin's presence behind them. She reacted quickly and quickly brought her ash towards Gin's left arm, cutting the entirety of it. He quickly pulled it back and said with a smile, "Oww, that really hurts!"  
Matsumoto quickly jumped aside and Hitsugaya lunged forward and was able to slash Gin's legs lightly. Gin reacted by bringing his wakizashi down on Hitsugaya's exposed shoulder, sending blood spurting out of it.

The 10th Division Captain roared in pain and slashed Gin across his chest, much to his surprise. Blood fell out of Gin's mouth as he jumped back from the panting Hitsugaya. His smile returned to his face as he addressed the two.

"Although this is pretty fun, I've had just about enough of this farce. It's time to end this."

"And how would you do that?" asked a curious Hitsugaya.

Gin's smirk grew even wider as he answered, aiming his zanpakuto at the floor. "Simply Captain Hitsugaya, just watch; Bankai!"

White smoke erupted from Gin's blade as both shinigami shielded their eyes. Hitsugaya quickly looked to his lieutenant and asked, "Do you know what his Bankai is?"

Matsumoto shook her head and replied, "No; he's never shown it to me before."

Hitsugaya suddenly felt something emerging from the smoke. "Get back!" he commanded.

Both Hitsugaya and Matsumoto jumped back as a blade shot through the smoke. Hitsugaya took flight and that was the target the blade chose to follow. Hitsugaya quickly turned to the side and narrowly avoided the blade. He looked down to see Gin smiling, his zanpakuto still in his hand.

"Not bad, but I'd be careful if I were you," he warned.

Before Hitsugaya could react, another blade came to his side. He quickly brought one of his wings up to defend himself, but it easily pierced through it and cut Hitsugaya's stomach. He landed on the floor in confusion as he looked back at Gin again.

To his surprise, there were two blades that extended from his single sword hilt. He kept his smirk as he finished, "Ikusen Shinso (Thousand Divine Spears)!"

Hitsugaya simply stared while breathing heavily, with a mix of fatigue and confusion.

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What is the secret behind Gin's Bankai?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	29. Every Time I Look in Your Eyes

All hell breaks loose as Gin's Bankai is unleashed. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**29: Every Time I Look in Your Eyes**

"Two swords?" asked Matsumoto, staring at the fight between her captain and former comrade.

Hitsugaya stayed in the air and smiled at his enemy. "That really can't be it can it? The great Gin's Bankai is just double his shikai? And here I thought it was going to be something terrifying."

Gin kept his smile as the two blades morphed into one and returned to his zanpakuto's hilt. "If you had any brains at all," he retorted, "you'd be terrified right now."

Without another word, he extended his blade at terrifying speed towards Hitsugaya. He quickly stepped to the side to avoid it, but sensed another blade coming at him from the air. He looked down and saw Gin had his second blade out and extended to kill.

"You think you can fool me again?!" asked a slightly angered Hitsugaya, quickly avoiding the second blade as well. "It may work as a sneak attack, but once one knows what it does, they can easily attack."

Hitsugaya's good-humor quickly left him when he felt another blade coming towards him. He looked down to see a third blade extending from Gin's hilt.

"You didn't think I was limited to two blades did you? Now that's just a foolish notion," he mocked.

"I expected that," Hitsugaya coolly replied as he narrowly side-stepped the blade. "Anything else? If not, then it's time I—"

Hitsugaya was cut off as another blade suddenly impaled his left shoulder from the side. Blood shot out as the 10th Division Captain screamed out in pain. He quickly pulled away to see what happened. To his surprise, the blade that struck him came out of the third blade that almost hit him.

"How?" he asked with genuine confusion.

"Figured it out yet?" Gin chided. "It would be too easy it all of the blades came from my hilt. You see, my Bankai gives me the ability to create a blade anywhere on my zanpakuto, even if it's another blade. There's an infinite number of possibilities, hence it's name, Thousand Divine Spears. Oh, and don't think my other three blades are finished yet either," he finished.

Hitsugaya suddenly knew what he meant when he sensed three blades coming to strike him from behind. He quickly turned around and froze them with a swing of his blade, but that did little to slow their trajectory down, forcing him to dodge.

"Don't forget that I can turn the blades around at will," Gin smirked.

"Talking so much isn't like you at all Ichimaru," Hitsugaya said while flying down towards Gin.

"Such a reckless attack," replied Gin. "Makes it easy for me to skewer you."

He suddenly shot another blade out of his hilt towards Hitsugaya. The Captain used one of his ice wings to absorb the attack, but Gin materialized another blade from the attack, going straight for Hitsugaya's back. He quickly turned around and knocked it away with his own sword. Not wasting any time, he turned around and swung his sword down at Gin.

The Ex-Captain quickly formed a new from his hilt and blocked the strike. Rage, however, proved to aid Hitsugaya, as he was able to break the blade and go straight for his enemy. Gin realized the danger and hopped back, but wasn't able to avoid a slash right above his left eye.

Blood flowed from his wound down on his face. Despite this, he still smiled at Hitsugaya as all of his blades returned to his hilt. "Not bad, being able to attack me. I guess that's what I get for taking it easy on you. The next attack won't be so easy."

Hitsugaya didn't bother replying and simply went towards him again. Gin extended his original blade towards his foe. Hitsugaya flew to the side to deftly avoid it. "Not bad," Gin said, "but how about this?"

Another blade materialized on the side of the blade Hitsugaya avoided, going for the back of the Captain's head. He jumped up, but the blade followed him. He sighed as he knocked it away, but was soon forced to avoid another blade speeding towards him from Gin's hilt.

"Ryusenka!" yelled Hitsugaya striking the blade, freezing it on contact.

"Don't focus too much on one attack Captain," Gin warned, "because you'll never know when another will come at you."

Hitsugaya roared with anger as he rushed towards Gin. The Ex-Captain summoned another blade from his hilt speeding towards Hitsugaya. Before it was about to strike him, however, two more blades branched off from it, and three blades were suddenly speeding towards the 10th Division Captain.

Hitsugaya quickly summoned an ice dragon that hit all three blades, freezing them on contact. He then took to the air when he felt all the blades he avoided before come towards him. He looked and saw that they too were branching off to form new blades that sped towards him.

Hitsugaya kept flying higher in the air in hopes of outrunning them. "You think I can't speed them up?" mocked Gin. "Just watch!"

As soon as Gin said that, all of the blades flying towards Hitsugaya sped up, and before Hitsugaya knew it, he was completely surrounded on all sides, a hundred blades speeding towards him. He quickly shielded himself with his wings, but they did little when all of the blades hit at the same time, utterly skewering Hitsugaya.

"Captain!" Matsumoto yelled with concern. She looked at Gin with anger. "Damn you!"

She sent a wave of ash towards the smiling enemy, but he quickly disappeared and was behind her, his hands hovering by her neck. "Please don't make me attack you Rangiku," he whispered in her ear. "I couldn't stand the thought of killing you."

Without waiting for a response, Gin disappeared from Matsumoto and pulled all of his blades back, all turning back into his single original blade. The ice wings used to protect Hitsugaya retracted and showed him full of stab wounds, falling to the ground.

"Such a shame," Gin said quietly. "He was so talented too."

Surprise genuinely showed on Gin's face when he felt a blade coming towards his head. He narrowly ducked and shot his blade at the culprit quickly. The attacker jumped back and revealed himself to be Hitsugaya, unharmed from Gin's attack.

"What a surprise," Gin smiled. "I thought we lost you to that attack."

"Don't underestimate me," an angrily Hitsugaya stated. "That was just an ice clone."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Gin asked himself. "Of course you would find a way to avoid my attack."

"Matsumoto, get farther back," Hitsugaya warned her. He then turned back to Gin and finished, "I'm going to end this now Ichimaru!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" he curiously asked.

"With one move," he replied while flying into the air. He then held out held his sword straight out in front of him and declared, "Hyoten Hyakkaso!"

Dark clouds started to gather in the immediate vicinity. Matsumoto knew what this mean as she retreated to a safer distance. "Oho, I know this attack," Gin commented. "This is what you used on dear Tia Harribel to trap her."

"And now it's going to kill you," Hitsugaya finished.

A huge hole opened up in the clouds and snow started falling from it. Gin's smile grew even wider as he pointed his single blade upward. "Don't think you're the only one that has special attacks," he warned.

He waited for more snow to drop, and when the first one was about to hit him, he declared, "Ikusen Yari Tomurai (Thousand Spear Funeral)!"

His sword suddenly show out at massive speed, destroying the snow that was about to hit him. While it was speeding, countless blades branched off of the original one. A countless number came out, each one striking a single snow drop and utterly destroying it. Before Hitsugaya knew it, a countless number of blades flew towards him. He quickly flew higher to avoid them all.

When all of the snow drops were destroyed, Gin retracted all of his blades back to his original one. "Well, so much for that," he chuckled.

Rage suddenly overtook Hitsugaya as he flew towards Gin screaming, "ICHIMARU!!!!!"

Gin sighed as he shot his blade at Hitsugaya. The 10th Division Captain knocked it away with anger. Before he knew it, however, the blade retracted and Gin disappeared.

"It's not like I can't do a regular attack you know," Hitsugaya heard behind him.

He turned around to see Gin above him with his zanpakuto raised high. Before Hitsugaya could react, Gin dealt a devastating slash across his chest. Blood spurted out as Hitsugaya's Bankai disengaged and he started to free-fall to the floor.

"D-Damn it…" he said before losing consciousness and hitting the floor in a heap.

"CAPTAIN!" Matsumoto screamed as she ran to his side.

She quickly surveyed his wounds. "_This isn't good_," she thought. "_He's bleeding badly. I'll have to get him help soon_."

Before she noticed, Gin was in front of both of them. Matsumoto instinctively held Hitsugaya close to protect him from his enemy. "Looks like he needs help," he light-heartedly commented. He then turned around and started walking away. "Cya."

"Wait!" Matsumoto yelled standing up. "We're not done here yet."

"Come on Rangiku," Gin replied. "Let's stop this fighting. I don't wanna hurt you."

"Well you're not walking away either," she replied raising her sword. "I'm going to follow my Captain's wishes and make sure you're brought back to confinement."

"And how do you plan to do that?" the Ex-Captain asked. "If your captain couldn't beat me, you have no chance."

"Perhaps, but I have something even my captain doesn't even know about. It's a good thing he's unconscious; I don't want him to know just yet."

"Know what?" he asked.

Matsumoto walked closer to Gin and farther away from Hitsugaya. Her blade then started to reform to its original form. "You'll soon see," she smiled. "Bankai!"

Ash started emitting from her sword and surrounded her. "Bankai?" Gin repeated with curiosity. "When did you learn Bankai?"

"About a year ago," Matsumoto explained from behind the ash. "I didn't want my captain to know until I perfected it, so I trained relentlessly to try and perfect it. Although I'm not there yet, I think I'm pretty close."

The ash disappeared to reveal nothing different about Matsumoto. Her sword still in her hand, no noticeable difference at all. "Dizorubu Haineko (Dissolving Ash Cat)!"

"Why nothing looks different," Gin said. "Are you sure this is Bankai?"

"Why don't you attack and find out," she taunted.

Gin's smile didn't change as he replied, "Fine, but don't blame me if you get hurt."

He shot his blade straight at Matsumoto. When it was close enough, the Lieutenant quickly sidestepped it and brought her blade crashing down on it. Gin retracted the blade and inspected it. "Is that really it? Come on now Ran—"

He was cut off as the spot Matsumoto struck started to turn into ash and drift into the sky. Before Gin knew it, the entire blade disappeared into ash. Gin's smile quickly faded as he asked, "What happened?"

"Attack again to find out."

Another blade formed on Gin's hilt as his smile quickly returned. "Fine."

This time, he shot two blades out of his hilt towards Matsumoto. She jumped in the air to avoid them, but they quickly turned upward to follow her. Before they struck, she knocked both of them away. Faster than before, the two blades started to disappear into ash where Matsumoto's sword struck. She landed deftly as Gin reformed his blade again.

"Get it yet?" she asked. "While my shikai turns my sword into ash, my Bankai does the opposite effect, turning everything my blade touches into ash. Pretty good, huh?"

"I must admit Rangiku, it's a very powerful Bankai," Gin replied, "but it only works with whatever you hit with your sword huh? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it would be pretty hard to hit a multiple blades coming towards you at once. Am I correct?"

Matsumoto didn't reply, and simply stared at Gin. "Let's see how many blades you can hit before you're overwhelmed shall we?"

Three blades suddenly shot out of Gin's hilt towards Matsumoto.

"Three!"

Matsumoto avoided the first two, striking them, but the last blade suddenly branched off into five blades coming towards her.

"Five!"

Matsumoto ducked and struck one blade, and hit the closest two before jumping in the air to dodge the remaining two. While chasing her, the two blades split into five blades each.

"Ten!"

Matsumoto narrowly avoided a strike to her cheek and quickly hit the blade, converting it to ash on contact. She saw the other nine blades coming towards her at break-neck speed. Thinking quickly she chanted, "Bakudo 39: Enkosen!"

A large yellow shield of condensed energy appeared in front of her. Each blade hit it and bounced off in a different direction. Matsumoto moved quickly, appearing to each blade separately and hitting them all quickly. After hitting nine, the remaining four blades branched off into an innumerable amount of blades.

"One hundred!" Gin declared.

Matsumoto grunted in frustration as the hundred blades flew towards her. Before the blades could hit her, she swung her free hand towards her. Before Gin knew it, a huge wall of ash appeared in front of her. It was so thick it stopped all of Gin's blades in their tracks, protecting Matsumoto from harm.

Before Gin could know what happened, Matsumoto was at his side, swinging her sword down right at the base of all hundred blades. They all quickly turned to ash as Matsumoto jumped away from the confused traitor.

"Would you mind explaining what that was Rangiku?" Gin inquired.

"You didn't think turning thing into ash was my only skill did you?" she gloated. "Once items are turned into ash, I can control it much like with my shikai, only with a much larger scale. Your blades are perfect fodder for my ash."

Gin reformed his single blade as he smiled. "You really have gotten strong Rangiku. I'm glad."

"I'm going to stop you once and for all Gin," she replied pointing her blade at him.

"Don't get too overconfident now," Gin advised. "It could leave unnecessary openings."

Matsumoto started to swirl her free hand around going faster and faster. To Gin's surprise, a tornado of ash started appearing in front of her. "Be careful Gin," she said. "This ash still cuts you like my shikai."

When the tornado was large enough, she brought her hand down yelling, "Hai Tatsumaki (Ash Tornado)!"

Gin quickly jumped out of the way and noticed the tornado was slashing everything it touched, walls and floor included. He aimed his blade at the tornado and declared, "Ikusen Yari Tomurai!"

Countless blades shot into the tornado in hopes of dispelling it with sheer numbers. Much to Gin's chagrin however, the blades only got slashed into bits by the number of ash particles in the tornado. Gin retracted the blades and landed on the floor. Before he could react, Matsumoto was behind him and brought her sword down on him. He quickly jumped back to avoid the strike in desperation.

"Careful where you're going," Matsumoto warned.

Gin looked behind him to see the tornado coming straight towards him. "Uh-oh," was all he said.

Thinking quickly, he wrapped his blade around himself to be protected as he fell into the tornado head on. After several seconds, Matsumoto made the tornado dissipate, sending Gin barreling to the earth with his shield completely gone.

The tornado obliterated the blade he used to shield himself and slashed Gin's entire body. As soon as he hit the floor, he reformed his blade and looked around. Before he knew it, Matsumoto struck his blade dissolving it and using her other hand to make the newly formed ash cut Gin's hand, forcing him to drop his hilt.

Matsumoto grabbed the hilt quickly and threw it in the air. Before Gin could reach it, Matsumoto struck it with her blade, dissolving his entire zanpakuto to ash. The shinigami traitor simply stood there dumbstruck at what just happened and dropped to his knees.

Matsumoto pointed her sword at Gin's face in victory, but much to her surprise, Gin smiled at this.

"You won Rangiku, congratulations. But now what will you do?"

Rangiku stood there staring into his closed eyes with true confliction, wondering what to do with her defeated life-long friend.

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Will Matsumoto kill Gin, capture him, or let him go?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	30. Every Day I'm Watching You Die

Matsumoto contemplates what to do with the defeated Gin. Enjoy!

**I love the weekends because it allows me to write chapters faster than when there's school, and this is a three day weekend at that, so I might update tomorrow as well. Yay! Anyway, as a side note, all the text in italics means it's a flashback.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**30: Every Day I'm Watching You Die**

_It had been several days, and she couldn't take it anymore. Giving in to fatigue and hunger, a young Rangiku Matsumoto collapsed on the floor. Despite promises of a perfect world, Soul Society was anything but that. People still stole, cheated, murdered. Growing up in Rukongai, she knew that well, bearing witness to such things every day. What exactly was different from Soul Society and the human world? The shinigami that purified her soul and sent her here promised that no one died of starvation. If that was the case, then why was she here right now, dying on the floor because of lack of food._

_Leaning her head to the right, she had completely and utterly given up. No one cared about her here. She had no parents, no friends; just an orphan that could die any minute. For all intents and purposes, dying was the best thing for her. She would be reincarnated soon in the human world where she would get someone who cares for her and makes sure she has food. So now all that was left was to wait, wait while dying slowly, cursing the God forsaken world with no energy, no happiness, and no hope._

_It was then that something extraordinary happened. A small hand came down close to her face. It was holding what seemed to be dried persimmons._

_"Eat up," she heard the owner of the hand say. "If you can collapse due to hunger, you must have spiritual power."_

_She turned her head slowly to see who was saying this. He looked about her age, with silver hair covering his forehead. His eyes were unopened and he wore a smile on his face._

_"You…too…?" was all she could mutter._

_"Yup," he cheerfully replied, "me too. Gin Ichimaru. Nice to meet you."_

_"…Gin," she repeated. "That's a weird name…"_

_Gin gave a small chuckle at this. "I guess it is." He moved the dried persimmon in his hand closer to her mouth. "Let me help you. Open wide."_

_Matsumoto did as she was asked and opened her mouth, taking a bite of the food that was brought to her. After tasting her first meal in days, tears started welling up in her eyes; Gin seemed confused by this action._

_"It's just some dried persimmon; it shouldn't be enough to cry over."_

_Matsumoto wasn't crying over the taste, however. She was crying because she had just met someone who seemed to care about her. Never in all of Soul Society had she met such an individual._

_When she was done eating, Gin held out his hand and said, "I take it you don't have a place to go. Why don't you come with me to my place."_

_Matsumoto wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded with a smile, taking his hand. Gin pulled her up with a smile. When she was on her own two feet again, he handed her another dried persimmon to eat on her own._

_"What's your name?" he asked with curiosity._

_"Rangiku Matsumoto."_

_"Rangiku, eh?" he repeated. "That's a pretty name."_

_Matsumoto couldn't help but chuckled at this phrase. "Come on," Gin started, walking down the road. "My house isn't too far off."_

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_Gin's house was located in the District Two in West Rukongai. It was a run-down little house with too many people living there as it is. Gin stopped at the door, saying, "This is it. I hope you don't mind other people here."_

_Matsumoto shook her head, and Gin walked her inside. The people engaged in idle conversation in the house suddenly stopped, and all eyes were on Matsumoto. Gin stood in front of her and addressed the people with a cheery attitude._

_"This is Rangiku Matsumoto," he said. "She's going to be staying with us for a while. Hope you don't mind."_

_No one answered, just simply stared at the pair. Gin started to move Matsumoto in a certain direction, saying, "You can stay in my room for now. Make yourself comfortable; I'll be there in a bit."_

_Matsumoto wordlessly walked into the room he directed her too. When she was in, Gin closed the door and turned back to talk to the people in the other room._

_Matsumoto kicked off her beat-up sandals and looked around. It was a bare room, with a single large platform taking up most of the room; the platform was covered in tatami mats. Matsumoto lay down on the platform and tried to relax. Her relaxation, however, was shattered when she heard voices louder than normal coming from outside the door. She quietly crawled off of the platform and opened the door a crack to see what was going on. She saw Gin talking to all of the other residents, clearly unhappy Gin's decision to bring her in._

_"So you just found her and decided to bring her in?" one of the residents asked the child._

_"She was hungry and had nowhere to go," Gin smiled. "What was I supposed to do?"_

_"You should have given her your food and left her," another one said._

_"She would still have no place to go. She would be dead in another day if I didn't bring her here."_

_"Then you should have let her die," another bluntly stated. "Death is a natural thing here; you can't get caught up with every single suffering person."_

_"If we don't look out for each other, who will?" Gin asked._

_The residents had no answer for this. "It is true that people die," Gin continued, "but we should try our best to lessen that death toll to the best of our abilities. If we see someone hungry, we should feed them. If we see somebody homeless, we should shelter them. What gives us the right to let someone starve or not give someone shelter?"_

_"It still doesn't change the fact that we don't have enough food to feed her."_

_"Then cut my meals in half," Gin resolved. "That should give you enough food to feed her completely."_

_After several long seconds of silence, one resident spoke up. "Fine Gin, she can stay."_

_With that, Gin turned around and went towards Matsumoto. She quickly shut the door and returned to her original resting place. Gin entered with his normal grin to see Matsumoto lying down._

_"Good news Rangiku," Gin said, "you can live here now."_

_"I don't want to be a bother," Matsumoto answered._

_"Nonsense, you're not bothering anyone at all."_

_Gin took off his sandals and sat down right next to Matsumoto. He looked up at the ceiling and said, "You know, I think you and I are going to be inseparable."_

_Matsumoto closed her eyes and nodded. Quietly then, she whispered, "Thank you…"_

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"Well then Rangiku," Gin asked the victor of the battle. "Are you going to kill me to avenge your captain?"

Matsumoto didn't answer, she still just stared at him with conflict shining in her eyes, truly unsure of what to do next.

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_"Hey, when is your birthday Rangiku?" Gin asked as she entered the room._

_"Huh?" she replied, sitting down next to him._

_It was an obscure question, no doubt. She had been living with Gin for a few months now and was doing much better. She was no longer starving and lived very comfortable, despite the cramped conditions they all lived in._

_"I don't know," she responded. "I never really counted the days until I met you."_

_Gin lost his smirk for a second and just looked at her with surprise. After several seconds, his smiled resumed while he said, "Then, the day you met me is your birthday."  
Those words took Matsumoto by surprise as she looked up at her friend. _

_"How about that Rangiku?"_

_"I-I guess," she replied. "But why do you ask?"_

_"We need a definitive birthday if we're ever going to enter the academy," Gin replied._

_"Academy?"_

_"The Shinigami Academy," Gin explained. "Remember how I told you only people with spiritual pressure get hungry?"_

_"Yeah…"_

_"Well that means we need to enter the Shinigami Academy and become shinigami ourselves."_

_Shinigami? The thought had never crossed Matsumoto's mind before. To think that she would be able to join Soul Society's military force and fight against hollows. It seemed like an impossible dream to her, simply out of her reach._

_"When we join the academy, we can leave this place for good," continued Gin. "And if we're lucky, we might become seated officers."_

_"I doubt that," Matsumoto commented. "It doesn't seem like either of us have any talent in such things."_

_"We'll never know until we try," smiled Ichimaru. "So what do you say Rangiku, would you like to join the academy with me?"_

_After several seconds, Matsumoto closed her eyes and answered his question._

_"Yes."_

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"What's the matter Rangiku?" Gin asked. "It shouldn't be a difficult decision. I nearly killed your captain and you want revenge. It's only a natural thing to want to do."

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_"Is that you Rangiku?" Gin inquired upon seeing her._

_"Of course it is; who else would it be?" Matsumoto retorted. "Don't start acting like you'd forget me just because you're already a shinigami and I'm still in the academy."_

_It had been three years since the two of them joined the Shinigami Academy, and after a single year, Gin graduated, being toted as a genius. He was put in the 5th Division and immediately made their 3rd seat, only below Lieutenant Aizen and Captain Shinji. _

_"Weren't you the one who said we probably didn't have any talent with these kinds of things?" mocked Gin. "It's your own negative attitude that didn't make you graduate yet."_

_"And it's your own freakish ways that made you graduate after only a year!" Matsumoto replied, jumping towards him with anger, which Gin simply side-stepped to avoid._

_"Don't get so angry," he started. "I haven't seen you in a while and wanted to catch up a little."_

_"Been busy at the 5th Division huh?" she asked._

_"Extremely," Ichimaru replied. "Lieutenant Aizen has been giving me a lot of responsibilities lately. I barely have any time to myself anymore."_

_'That's too bad," Matsumoto responded. "I wish it was more like the old days when we would spend every day together."_

_"It's not so bad," Gin replied happily. "We may not see each other as much anymore, but we're still friends. Remember what I said Rangiku, we're still inseparable."_

_After several seconds, Matsumoto said, "Sorry Gin, but I need to go to my next class. I hope to see you soon."_

_She ran off as Gin waved goodbye. "Yeah…" he said to himself. "Hope to see you soon."_

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"If you don't hurry, Captain Hitsugaya will die of blood loss," Gin added, only making her decision more stressful.

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_"Don't move please," Matsumoto said, grabbing Gin's arm and holding her blade to his throat._

_"Sorry Captain Aizen; she got me," Gin called to his fellow captive; Aizen simply stared back with an indifferent glare. _

_"How could you do this Gin?" Matsumoto whispered in his ear while holding him captive. "How could you betray Soul Society like this? You said we were inseparable, you said we were friends."_

_"We are," Gin whispered back._

_"Then why did you betray me like this?!" she asked in a louder voice, but still low enough for no one else to hear._

_"It's hard to explain," he replied. "The truth will become evident later. Just know that we're still friends Rangiku."_

_"Why?" she asked, trying to hold back tears. "Why do you always leave without telling me where you go? Where do you want to go Gin?"_

_Gin was about to answer, but was cut off by Aizen._

_"Sorry, but it's time."_

_Yoruichi and Soi Fon jumped away as a yellow beam of light fell down on Aizen. The sky then split where the beam came from, revealing several gillian. _

_"Just how many of them are there?" Omaeda asked._

_Two more beams of light suddenly shot down, one on Tosen, and one on Gin, forcing Matsumoto to back away. _

_"Too bad…" Gin said looking at the floor. "It would have been nice if my capture lasted a little longer. Farewell Rangiku…sorry."_

_The floor then started lifting where the beam was, lifting Aizen, Tosen, and Gin into the air. "No one starts on top of the world," Aizen said to all of the shinigami down below. "Not you, not me, not even Gods. But the unbearable vacancy of the throne in the sky is now over. From now on…" he said taking off his glasses and running his hand through his hair, "… I'll be sitting on it. Goodbye shinigami, and goodbye young drifter. For a human, you're really quite interesting."_

_With that, the hole in the sky shut, making Aizen, Tosen, and Gin disappear from all. Silence reigned for a while, some shinigami being unable to handle the news, and the shock of it all bringing Matsumoto to her knees._

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"I've made my decision," Matsumoto finally said. "And I've decided…that I can't kill you. Despite everything you've done to all of us Gin, I can't bring myself to do it." Matsumoto then deactivated her Bankai and started turning around. "I'm going to take my Captain to the 4th Division, and then I'll send you back to the Maggot's Nest, where you'll spend the rest of your days."

When her back was fully turned, Gin smirked even wider and replied, "Sorry Rangiku, but that's not how it's going to happen."

"What?"

Suddenly Gin jumped up and ran towards her. Matsumoto was only half-turned when he was right in front of her. With lightning speed, he grabbed her right arm, which still held her sword, and pulled it closer to him, impaling himself with it through the chest.

He spat blood out on Matsumoto's shoulder as she stared horrified at what just happened. Gin then stepped back, letting the sword slide out of his torso. He staggered back a few steps before collapsing on his back.

Matsumoto sheathed her sword and ran towards the dying Gin. She gently lifted his head up as he opened his eyelids slowly, staring at her with his blue-colored eyes.

"Why?" she asked looking down at him. "Why would you do that?"

Blood flowed out of Gin's mouth as he replied, "Sometimes, the truth becomes evident later."

"Don't do that to me again!" she responded with a mix of anger and sadness. "Tell me exactly why you just did that!"

"I had no choice," Gin replied.

"Yes you did! You could have gone back to the Maggot's Nest!" Tears freely fell down her face and onto Gin's.

"And do what?" he asked. "My zanpakuto was destroyed and even if I did survive, Aizen would kill me for not being useful anymore anyway. I'd rather die like this than by his hand anyway."

"Then why did you join with him in the first place?!"

"Because he was my only other friend besides you. I had no one else to depend on, and his words seemed so powerful back when I was a kid. I pledged my loyalty to him and swore I would do whatever he wanted, and once I did that, I knew there was no going back."

"You could have told someone about him," Matsumoto said.

"And then what? No one was strong enough to stop Aizen, not even me. If I told someone, we would just have to leave Soul Society sooner, and that would mean I wouldn't be able to see you at all anymore."

"I still don't understand…"

"You don't really have to," Gin replied, bringing his hand weakly up to her cheek. "All you have to know is that I'm truly sorry Rangiku."

"If you weren't such an idiot, you wouldn't be here right now," she said.

"Maybe so…" he replied, finding it harder to speak now. "But it doesn't matter anymore now anyway. Even thought I'm dying here…we're still inseparable Rangiku…Don't ever forget that…"

With that, Gin's blue eyes closed for good, causing more tears to come from Matsumoto's face. She sat there holding his head for the longest time.

"That's what I hate most about you," she sobbed while rocking his head slowly. "You…idiot…"

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Aizen suddenly flinched along with Yamamoto while in the middle of their battle. "So they even got Gin, eh?" Aizen said slowly. "I guess that means I'm the only one left."

"You've lost Aizen," Yamamoto declared. "All of your men have been wiped out, and soon you are too."

"If that's what you think, then you're more senile than I thought," Aizen mocked. "They all served their purposes. All that's left for me is to clean up the rest."

"I won't let you do that!" Yamamoto said, lunging to strike at his enemy.

Aizen parried the blow and looked at him with a smile. "I'm afraid it's not up to you…"

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The battle between good and evil finally starts.

**P.S. Let me know what you thought about Gin's death scene. I'm not the best at writing emotional moments like that, but I tried my best, and your thoughts are always appreciated. Thanks!**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	31. To Watch the World Burn

Aizen and Yamamoto finally clash blades, but it will take a serious effort on both of their sides to try and wound one another. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**31: To Watch the World Burn**

"Today is the day you will pay for all of your crimes Aizen!" Yamamoto declared to his adversary after his parried strike.

"Keep telling yourself that," Aizen smirked. "But you'd be foolish to think of it the same as last time."

Yamamoto matched his smile at the memory. "Last time I defeated you with little effort."

"The only reason you won was because I let you," Aizen retorted. "As I said before, I realized my losses and decided to go back and start from scratch. So faking my death was necessary."

"Enough! There's no use musing on the past. Let's just continue."

"My thoughts exactly," replied the shinigami traitor.

Yamamoto made the first move again, using shunpo to appear at Aizen's side. The 1st Division Captain swung his sword in hopes to decapitate the traitor, but he simply used shunpo to appear behind the old captain with his sword raised high.

Yamamoto quickly turned around and parried his blow. Aizen stared in his eyes as they locked swords, saying, "I certainly hope you don't underestimate me and try to kill me without even trying. That would just be insulting."

"I could say the same to you," Yamamoto replied. "You're not trying as well."

Aizen smiled at this and jumped away. "Not trying? Maybe not; it's a hard thing to explain, but I don't really want to fight at full strength right now. I guess you could say I'm just enjoying the fight."

"That's not like you at all," scoffed Yamamoto. "I'm surprised at you Aizen."

"As I've said before, the last ten years have changed me."

With those words, they clashed blades again. This time, Aizen made the first move, feigning to the left and aiming for Yamamoto's side. Years of experience made Yamamoto act on instincts, as he quickly turned to his side and parried Aizen's blade. Aizen smirked at this and used shunpo to get away from the Captain-General's blade. Yamamoto quickly sensed Aizen was above him with his blade raised high.

Giving a bellowing roar, Yamamoto jumped at amazing heights towards Aizen. It was over in a second as they both passed each other after striking, both landing on the floor at the same time.

A small cut appeared in Yamamoto's shoulder, letting a miniscule amount of blood flow. Aizen saw this and smiled widely.

"Not much of a wound is it? Well you'll soon see that they can add up, and they can do it quickly too!" mocked Aizen.

"Oh, but I'm not the only one injured," Yamamoto replied.

Aizen knew what he meant when a small cut, about the size of Yamamoto's, appeared on his left arm. Aizen, however, did not lose his smile. "I guess fair is fair. That's what I get for being too overconfident."

"Indeed."

Aizen held out his finger towards Yamamoto. "Hado 4: Byakuria."

A large white beam shot from Aizen's finger and barreled towards Yamamoto. He surprisingly didn't move at all and simply responded, "Bakudo 8: Seki."

A small blue shield appeared in Yamamoto's arm. Aizen's Byakuria hit Yamamoto's Seki and both canceled out, leaving Yamamoto completely unharmed.

When the dust settled, Yamamoto saw Aizen was gone. This surprised him only because he could not sense his spiritual pressure anywhere. Too late Yamamoto noticed he was behind him. His head was half turned when Aizen's foot collided with his head with devastating power.

Yamamoto, however, was not easily shaken as he didn't retreat a single step. Aizen looked as if he expected this and brought his sword down towards his enemy. Yamamoto brought his sword up to parry it swiftly. Rage suddenly in his eyes, Yamamoto roared and used his strength to push Aizen back into the air.

While Aizen was there, Yamamoto appeared behind him, reckoning in his eyes. Giving another roar, he brought his sword sideways in an arc towards Aizen. The traitor acted fast and turned his sword upside down and quickly brought it up to parry the blow. The force of it, however, sent him flying into the wall of the 1st Division Headquarters, leaving a massive hole where Aizen hit.

The shinigami traitor walked slowly through the hole, a good amount of dust on his clothes, but no serious injuries could be seen. Yamamoto landed and stared at him with the same burning intensity.

"If I didn't know any better," he smirked, "I'd say you might be getting serious."

"Why not?" Yamamoto replied. "It looks like this will drag on if we keep holding ourselves back."

"I suppose you're right. Perhaps it is time to stop beating around the bush."

Yamamoto threw off his captain's haori and nudged off his black shinigami robe, revealing his muscular battle-scarred chest. He held his sword up horizontally and declared, "Reduce all Creation to Ash, Ryujin Jakka!"

The Captain-General's blade was suddenly engulfed in flames, exhuming a ridiculous amount of energy. Aizen shielded his eyes from the intense heat coming from it. "I just suggested that we stop messing around, and you whip out your shikai right away," he ironically said. "Well, if you insist on fighting me on that level, then I suppose I'll have to do the same."

He pointed his blade to the ground and dropped it.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

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Ichigo's treatment was finally complete. That doesn't mean, however, that it wasn't painless. After several agonizing screams, they finally subsided, and Ichigo was left to rest.

"It's finally over right?" Ichigo asked Captain Unohana with desperation.

"It wasn't that bad," Unohana said calmly. "After that battle you went through, you're lucky it wasn't much worse. Actually…" she said while closing her eyes, "…you healed a lot faster than I expected. I think it's safe to say that after a bit of rest, you can go back out there, although it wouldn't hurt to take it easy."

"Good," Ichigo said, starting to get up while grabbing his sword. "Then it's time to go find Aizen and…"

Before he could blink, Unohana was able to grab his arm, force him to drop his sword, and bring him back to the bed. She held her sword out at his throat and repeated, "Perhaps you didn't hear me. I said with a bit of rest, you can go out."

"Er…r-right…" Ichigo said with fear in his voice.

Unohana smiled and sheathed her sword. "Good. Now, just lay there and rest for a while."

When she departed, Ichigo released a sigh of relief.

"It's best not to make her angry," Ichigo heard a voice say right next to him.

He turned to see none other than Kenpachi with a heavily bandaged chest and Yachiru at his side. Suffice it to say, his presence took Ichigo by surprise.

"Kenpachi?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I've been here longer than you idiot," he said calmly. "I guess you were in too much pain to notice."

"Well, Kurosaki-kun wasn't too observant to begin with," another voice said.

Ichigo turned to see Ukitake, flanked by Kyoraku, Stark, and Lilynette. "Didn't expect to see all of you here," Ichigo commented. "I thought you were the strongest captains around."

"Let's just say our opponent was skilled," Ukitake responded with a smile. "Thanks to Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu's expertise, we're able to move around freely, although it might be hard to fight."

"That's a lot of captains here," said Ichigo. "Who else is here?"

"Let's see," Kenpachi contemplated. "I got here first, was treated fairly quickly, and then Ukitake, Kyoraku, and Stark came in carrying Byakuya."

"Byakuya got injured too?!" asked a surprised Ichigo.

"We found him lying in the middle of the road in a pool of his own blood," Kyoraku explained. "He's still recovering, although he's out of danger."

"Who else?"

"Well, around halfway through your treatment, Lieutenant Matsumoto brought Captain Hitsugaya in, who was unconscious and in danger. Thankfully, Lieutenant Kotetsu was able to tend to him and is still working on him. After handing him over, Lieutenant Matsumoto took off, saying she had something to do," Ukitake said. "And that's about it. Anyone else who has come in has only suffered minor injuries."

"So I guess all your enemies were killed then?" inquired Ichigo. Everyone nodded to this question. "Then that just leaves Aizen and Gin."

Everyone was suddenly alert when they felt a familiar spiritual energy. "This is…" Ichigo started.

"Ol' Yama's shikai," Kyoraku finished. "He must be facing Aizen to activate it."

"Damn!" Ichigo said, grabbing his sword and jumping out of his bed and bolting out of the door.

"Wait, Kurosaki-kun!" Ukitake yelled before he, Kyoraku, Stark, Lilynette, Kenpachi, and Yachiru took off after him.

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Yamamoto lightly waved his sword towards Aizen, and sent a powerful wave of energy towards him. Aizen shielded his eyes and used shunpo to escape the powerful energy's wrath. He was suddenly behind Yamamoto, attempting to stab him through his chest. The Captain-General, however, was prepared and turned around to slash Aizen. The Ex-Captain saw this coming and disappeared.

Aizen was suddenly at Yamamoto's side with his sword ready. He was too late, however, as Yamamoto used shunpo to appear behind Aizen. Not giving him time to react, he impaled Aizen right through his chest. Aizen gave a grunt of pain and spat out blood.

To Yamamoto's surprise, Aizen started to melt away into a white blob on the ground. It was then that he sensed Aizen above him with his sword raised high. "Sorry, just an illusion," he clarified.

"I expected that," Yamamoto quietly replied, swinging his sword towards Aizen, sending flames towards him.

Aizen gave a sigh of dismay as he was forced to get away and landed a good length between him and Yamamoto. Surprisingly, they both smiled and didn't even speak. After several seconds, Yamamoto held his sword up and said, "Heat it up, Ryujin Jakka."

Flames suddenly surrounded Yamamoto's entire body, boosting his spiritual pressure and giving a defense of fire. "So you've moved up to Ryujin Jakka's second form, eh?" Aizen asked. "Does that mean I'm winning?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Yamamoto said. "It just means I'm tired of fighting you indirectly. Now things will really get interesting."

Yamamoto suddenly appeared behind Aizen with his sword poised to kill. Aizen gave a small gasp before Yamamoto's sword slashed his back, engulfing him in flames on sight. Yamamoto spat at this. "I know it's an illusion. Come out here Aizen."

"You really are good to see through such a clever illusion," Yamamoto heard. "Hado 54: Haien!"

A purple blast of energy flew towards Yamamoto. The Captain-General didn't even bother moving as the blast just hit the flames surrounding him, doing nothing to faze him.

"I thought the Abolition Flame was supposed to incinerate anything it touches," he heard Aizen say. "I guess you're armors really strong."

"I said COME OUT!" Yamamoto yelled.

He pointed his sword in a certain direction. A huge blast of fire shot out of his sword towards the direction he pointed to. He suddenly saw Aizen jump away from his hiding spot a second before the blast hit, causing a massive explosion.

"Got you!" Yamamoto triumphantly declared.

At Yamamoto's will, the flames surrounding him got larger, and a large flame in the shape of a fist shot out towards Aizen. "Damn!" the traitor declared before disappearing again.

Before Aizen could even touch the ground, Yamamoto was behind him with killing intent in his actions. Aizen reacted quickly and turned around to parry Yamamoto's blade. Yamamoto pushed on the blade quickly and was able to cut Aizen's blade in half, hitting the traitor across the shoulder.

Yamamoto's eyes lit up as he thought he won, but a voice behind him made him shiver. "Don't think I'm limited to only creating illusions when I'm not fighting."

Yamamoto suddenly saw the Aizen he struck shatter. "AIZEN!" he roared turning around quickly to face his foe.

"And don't think I would show myself without attacking either."

Yamamoto suddenly knew what that meant when a large deep slash appeared across his chest, sending blood spraying. Yamamoto groaned and stabilized himself. "To think you would only recognize that attack now," Aizen mocked. "You must be getting old."

Yamamoto roared as he increased the power of his flames to an exponential size. Aizen realized the danger and quickly slashed the ceiling to create an opening. He leapt through the 1st Division Headquarters and high into the sky.

If Aizen was any lower, the flames would have reached him. Yamamoto's flames engulfed the entire building and utterly incinerated it, leaving only the base of the building left. After the building was destroyed, the flames died down and returned to only engulfing Yamamoto.

Aizen landed on the floor and looked around. "I forgot you had such destructive power. Would be deadly for me if I underestimate you. But still, expending such energy just to destroy your own building seems a bit foolish, don't you think?"

"It wasn't just to destroy my own building," replied a level-headed Yamamoto.

Aizen was surprised when he saw the wound he just caused start to close up, leaving only a scar on his chest. "I see," he smiled. "So you expended your own energy to heal your wound. Smart thinking, but that's still precious energy you just wasted."

"I don't intend on keeping this farce up for too much longer," Yamamoto stated.

"Well then by all means, show me how you can finish this quickly."

At that time, Ichigo and the group following him appeared by Aizen and Yamamoto. "Well what have we here?" Aizen smirked. "Looks like you got reinforcements; lucky you."

"Don't worry," Yamamoto reassured. "They won't interfere; I'll make sure of it." He turned to Ukitake and Kyoraku and commanded, "All of you get back. This is between me and Aizen."

"But—" Ichigo began to protest, only to get his mouth covered up by Kyoraku.

"Sure thing Ol' Yama," he said in Ichigo's stead, much to his chagrin.

The entire party went back to a sizeable distance. Only then did Kyoraku released his hand over Ichigo's mouth. He immediately started breathing again and complained, "Why the hell did you do that? We could have finished Aizen off right there!"

"You just gotta have faith in Ol' Yama," Kyoraku replied. "If he says for us to step back, we must step back."

Ichigo sighed and sat down to watch the fight.

Back at the battlefield, Yamamoto turned back to Aizen. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "But I'll show you how I intend to finish this. Prepare yourself Aizen; Bankai!"

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Yamamoto unleashes his Bankai to fight Aizen, but will it be enough?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	32. The Art of Shooting Fire from the Sky

Yamamoto unleashes his Bankai to stop Aizen. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**32: The Art of Shooting Fire from the Sky**

The outpouring of energy alone made Ichigo feeling anxious. "Did he say Bankai?" he asked Ukitake.

The 13th Division Captain nodded. "It has to be. Even his shikai can't bring fourth this much energy."

"But why would he activate his Bankai when he's not even wounded?" asked Ichigo.

"Ol' Yama probably wants to finish the fight quickly," Kyoraku answered. "I don't blame him; if it were me, I couldn't stand the sight of Aizen and would want to kill him as fast as possible."

"Well this is a good way to do it," Ichigo commented.

"And pretty productive," Stark interjected with a yawn. "No doubt every shinigami around will feel his energy and come towards it. That could easily work in our favor in case Yamamoto needs help."

"It was his own orders not to help him," Ukitake stated. "So unless he somehow loses, we won't do anything, no matter how many people come."

As if by magic, Rukia, Renji, Hisagi, and Hinamori appeared next to the group. "Rukia?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"Oh," Rukia replied, noticing him. "I didn't expect to see you here; I thought you'd be fighting somewhere."

"I would be, but Unohana said I should rest a bit, and Yamamoto ordered us not to interfere, so it works out nicely anyway."

"The Captain-General's fighting by himself?" asked Renji with surprise.

Kyoraku sighed with annoyance. "Ol' Yama's just activated his Bankai against Aizen. That's about it. Now can we watch without asking anymore questions?"

"Why's Kyoraku so worked up?" Ichigo asked Ukitake.

"He's just concerned about Yamamoto's safety," the white-haired captain smiled. "That's all."

Ichigo nodded and looked back at the battle that was taking place.

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The first thing Aizen noticed when Yamamoto declared his Bankai was that the sky darkened with dark clouds giving off a reddish tint. "Your very spiritual pressure is enough to darken the sky. Remarkable!"

"This sky spells your doom Aizen!" Yamamoto replied.

The Captain-General raised his sword high in the air and started to spin it around slowly at first, but then picking up speed. "Daha Ryujin Jakka (Abolishing Flowing Flame Blade)!"

"What's going on?" asked Aizen. "If you just keep standing there, I'm gonna be forced to attack you."

"Don't worry," Yamamoto coolly replied. "It's already begun!"

Before Aizen could even reply, the red sky began to split apart. Only a second after this happened, red fireballs flew from the sky down towards the earth. Aizen could tell the gravity of the situation and leapt to the side to avoid the first one barreling towards him. To his surprise, despite its relatively small size, it was packed with enough energy to send Aizen back a few feet.

The traitor shinigami looked up and saw the sky start to rain fireballs, all hitting the ground with tremendous force. Aizen was forced to stay on his toes as he dodged each one, only occasionally getting a glancing blow.

"Illusions will not help you here Aizen," Yamamoto scoffed. "Not when your opponent is all of the sky!"

"Don't underestimate me old man!" Aizen said, feeling a bit pressured now. He aimed his hand at the sky and yelled, "Hado 63: Soren Sokatsui!"

Two blue beams shot out of his hand and hit the fireballs in the air, destroying them and only sending bits of debris to the ground. Suddenly, all of the fireballs stopped falling from the sky, leaving Aizen to smirk.

"That can't be it, can it? Your all-powerful Bankai to be stopped so easily, I find it hard to believe."

"Too bad for you, that was just the warm-up," replied Yamamoto.

"What?"

With that, Yamamoto held out his free hand and balled it up into a fist. By that action, all of the pieces of rock lodged in the earth from the firestorm got crushed themselves, leaving only burning hot magma. Using his mind, Yamamoto formed all of the magma together and lifted it into the air, making a large ball of flaming lava.

"I see," Aizen said. "The first part is to get the molten rock to fall from the sky to try and kill the enemy, and if they survive, you can use the lava as you wish? Very clever and unexpected."

Yamamoto didn't even reply as he brought his hand down, sending all the lava flying towards Aizen at ridiculous speeds.

"Bakudo 81: Danku!" Aizen said, erecting a see-through barrier right in front of him.

The lava hit the shield and stopped, leaving Aizen smiling. Much to his surprise, however, he saw the barrier beginning to melt. He realized the lava would break through and escaped shortly before the lava shot through, melting the barrier completely.

"_So it's able to destroy kido, much like Barragan's Respira…"_ Aizen thought to himself while running away from the lava.

Aizen turned towards the oncoming lava and held his sword out. "Hado 58: Tenran!"

A large tornado shot towards the lava, but did nothing to slow it, forcing Aizen to retreat again. "_There's no way my kido wouldn't be able to stop normal lava. There must be something more to it._" After several seconds, he stopped for a second. "I understand now," he said with a smirk.

"You shouldn't lower your guard Aizen," Yamamoto said. "I can easily make this go faster."

"Damn!" Aizen said, noticing what was happening.

He was too late as the lava touched his foot and burned away the bone as soon as it touched. Aizen gave a scream as the lava quickly engulfed all of him, silencing his scream with a second. Surprised showed on Yamamoto's face when he felt Aizen behind him. He immediately knew that the Aizen he killed was an illusion.

"I understand it all now," Aizen stated. "Your Bankai lets you send your spiritual energy in the form of flames straight into the sky, letting the higher atmosphere cool and condense it to a magma-like fireball, but still retaining the original heat. Once you've gathered enough of them, you can send them down as you please and form them into lava. It's not just ordinary lava, however. That lava is infused with your spiritual energy, otherwise, it wouldn't be able to destroy and be unharmed by kido and immediately destroy whatever the lava touches."

"Incredible," Ukitake commented. "To be able to find out the secret to Yamamoto's Bankai so easily."

"Just because he knows how it works doesn't mean he can defeat it," Kyoraku reassured. "In fact, it doesn't help his chances one bit."

"Let's hope Yamamoto ends this quickly," Stark said. "I don't fancy fighting with Aizen."

"Don't get too excited Aizen," Yamamoto said. "It makes you lower your guard and forget about simple things, like how many moves this Bankai lets me use."  
To Aizen's surprise, a red circle started forming under him. He knew it was bad as he quickly jumped in the air. "Nenshou Maru (Burning Circle)!" Yamamoto yelled.

Lava suddenly erupted from the ground where the circle was, flying right towards Aizen. He knew it would reach him, so he was forced to jump away from the lava completely.

"That's just like one of your shikai's moves," Ichigo commented to Rukia.

"Only a lot more powerful," she said.

"I'm not finished yet!" Yamamoto roared as he moved his free arm towards Aizen.

A large amount of lava suddenly split from the circle and flew towards Aizen. "So you can split it up at will, eh?" Aizen said, forced to change course. "Is there no end to what you can do?"

"I warned you about getting careless," Yamamoto said. "That will be your downfall."

Aizen was confused until he could sense a large meteor flying towards him from the sky. He quickly turned around and shot a quick but powerful kido spell at it, turning it into lava and sending it into the already large amount flying towards him.

"There's just no end to your attacks is there?" Aizen asked his adversary.

Yamamoto didn't answer, but surprisingly sent the lava he was using to attack Aizen back to him. He sent it behind him and started to form a strange shape. "Looks like I'm gonna need some more," Yamamoto admitted.

More fireballs then started flying from the sky and landing into the already large lava pile, making it even bigger. Aizen decided he needed to make his move as he rushed towards the open Yamamoto.

"You think I'm just gonna stand here and let you use a new attack?!"

Aizen was suddenly stopped in his tracks when Yamamoto used some of the lava to create a large wall between him and Aizen. "No I don't," Yamamoto replied. "But I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

Aizen grunted in annoyance as he hopped away from the life-stealing lava. "I'd say that's about enough," Yamamoto finally said, sending his lava wall back into the large stockpile he already had.

It quickly started shape-shifting and in a matter of seconds, the lava reconstituted itself to the shape of a full body dragon, complete with a large tail, two humungous wings, and a large deadly head. It suddenly gave a shattering roar and took to the sky.

"THIS IS THE END AIZEN!" Yamamoto declared. "SHOU DORAGON (Destroying Dragon)!"

"Amazing…" was all Ichigo could utter.

The dragon gave another roar before flying towards its enemy. "This isn't good," Aizen said before swiftly taking off to avoid it.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" yelled the Captain-General.

A large salvo of fireballs started flying from the sky towards Aizen. "Give me a break…" he said.

He quickly used kido to destroy most of the fireballs, but the lava dragon was still barreling towards him. The dragon roared again as it shot a large fireball from its mouth, forcing Aizen to the ground. As soon as he landed, the dragon was on him, going towards him headfirst. Aizen cursed under his breath as he used his fastest shunpo to get back in the air, leaving the dragon to crash into the ground and break apart into unshaped lava, spreading itself across the ground.

Aizen started to sweat and breath heavily, but he was visibly sweating a bit more when he saw the lava reconstitute itself back into the same dragon. It roared again and flew towards him. He went even higher into the air, but still it followed him, getting faster by the second.

"Got no choice…" he said to himself.

Aizen suddenly stopped, and the dragon was on him. "IT'S OVER AIZEN!" Yamamoto yelled as the dragon was a foot away from his adversary.

To everyone's surprise, however, a large black blast completely engulfed the dragon, destroying it completely, lava and all.

"What?!" everyone said at the same time.

The smoke cleared to reveal a very horrible sight. Aizen stood there, motionless, but on his face, a hollow mask was clearly visible.

"No…" Ichigo said slowly.

The mask itself was unique. It looked like two halves of a mask, simply because the right half was white regular mask, with a large eyehole and the hollow teeth in a kind-looking smile. It's only decoration was what looked like a small glasses forming around the eyes, much like Aizen's old glasses before he discarded him. The left half, however, was black, with the eyehole was much like Ichigo's mask's eyehole, forming the shape of Aizen's own eye. A red line was visible running down the bottom of the eye all the way down to the squarish-shaped chin that was jutting out of the bottom of the mask. The hollow teeth on this side were also shaped in a smile, but resembled a maniacal wide type of grin. An interesting thing noted was that on the white half of the mask, his right eye was black, like most masks, but on the black half, his left eye remained white and unchanged.

"Aizen…you're a Vizard?" Yamamoto asked, with surprise on his face.

"I told you before," Aizen said behind his mask, "I learned from my mistakes. I saw how powerful Shinji and his group were with that mask on, so I decided to break the barriers between a hollow and shinigami for myself and become a Vizard, although they don't know a thing about it; to them, I'm still dead."

"But how?"

"Anything is possible with the Hogyoku," Aizen replied. "It was originally made to break the barriers for shinigami, not arrancar anyway."

"It still doesn't mean you'll win!" Yamamoto declared beginning to form new lava.

"You don't understand…" Aizen started. He suddenly disappeared. Before Yamamoto could track him, Aizen was behind him. "…the second I put on this mask, you lost."

A large slash appeared on Yamamoto's chest, sending blood spraying out. He spat blood out, but turned around towards his enemy. "AIZEN!" he roared, concentrating all of his spiritual power.

The red sky split even more as the biggest fireball yet started to emerge. The energy was clearly taking a toll on Yamamoto as he was visibly struggling. "You shouldn't expend so much energy, or you'll die," Aizen warned.

"I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME!" Yamamoto roared, sending the massive fireball down from the sky.

Yamamoto quickly jumped out of the way, but Aizen didn't expect the fireball to go down so quickly, and was caught like a deer in the headlights, taking the full force of it. Yamamoto panted heavily and smiled, "I did it. It's finally over."

"I hope you didn't forget I can still cast illusions," the Captain-General heard a voice say.

Yamamoto quickly turned around, only to be impaled through the chest with cold steel. Aizen stood there holding the sword, grinning behind his mask.

"You're a pitiful excuse for a leader," he declared. "All I had to do was put on my mask and you were finished. But don't worry, the others will follow you shortly, along with that stupid Spirit King; and I will be sitting on his throne as the God of Soul Society."

Yamamoto's vision dimmed as his Bankai deactivated from fatigue and pain. Despite this, however, he still summoned a formidable amount of energy, yelling "AIZEN!"

"Oh my, still that strong eh?" Aizen playfully said. He held his free hand up to Yamamoto's chest and charged a small black energy blast on it. "Cero Oscuras," he declared, shooting it at the Captain-General

The blast was massive and was successful in lowering Yamamoto's spiritual pressure to almost nothing. "Ai…zen…" was all he could mutter now.

"OL' YAMA!" Kyoraku yelled running towards the battle.

"YAMAMOTO!" Ukitake said following his friend.

"AIZEN!" Ichigo yelled, going towards his enemy.

Aizen's mask disappeared as he pulled his sword out of the Captain-General and let him fall to the floor. He was about to deliver the finishing blow when Ichigo came towards him with tremendous speed, forcing him to parry the blow instead. While Aizen was busy, Kyoraku and Ukitake came up and picked Yamamoto up before disappearing back to the large group of shinigami.

"Take Yamamoto to the 4th Division Headquarters, Hisagi and Hinamori," Ukitake commanded.

They both nodded and took an unconscious Yamamoto before disappeared.

"I'm going to kill you Aizen!" Ichigo yelled in anger.

Aizen simply smiled at him and replied, "I've said it before and I'll say it again Kurosaki. Don't use such strong words; they only make your weaknesses _that_ much more apparent."

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It's Ichigo vs. Aizen. Who will come out on top?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	33. The Swordless Skirmish

The final battle begins between Ichigo and Aizen. Who will emerge victorious? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**33: The Swordless Skirmish**

Aizen used his strength to push Ichigo back a few feet. Ichigo stared at Aizen with hatred in his eyes, while Aizen simply smiled back at him. "It seems like you won't let me off easy," he said lightly.

"Of course not," Ichigo replied. "You almost destroyed Soul Society and nearly killed the Captain-General."

"True," Aizen replied. "I guess you can't help but feel anger towards me. Then again, you were able to defeat Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, so I guess I can spare some time to play with you."

"You think we'll just stand by and let you?" Kyoraku asked, drawing his sword; most people in the large group of shinigami did the same.

"No, I didn't expect as much," replied Aizen. He then pulled out the Gillian Whistle and finished, "Good thing I was prepared."

He then blew on it at a certain frequency. A large garganta suddenly appeared over all of the shinigami. Out of the garganta, came Superchunky, a scar around his eye, but still working fine. He was surrounded by a large amount of gillian.

"It's him!" Renji exclaimed. "I thought we took care of him."

"Oh, so you know Fura then?" Aizen asked.

"Fura? That's that thing's name?" inquired Rukia.

"Indeed," Aizen replied. "Only me and Wonderweiss knew it's name; and only we know how to control it. Allow me to show you." Aizen looked up at Fura and ordered, "Kill all these shinigami."

Fura responded with a large roar, and then blowing his breath towards the group. "Get out of it!" Rukia yelled to her companions.

All the shinigami nodded and escaped quickly, leaving behind only a few low-level shinigami to fall prey to Fura's life-stealing breath. Fura looked at all of the scattering shinigami and seemed to order all of the gillian around him to chase after them. Wanting to bolster their numbers, Fura spit out more gillian to give chase.

"What do you think about this?" Stark asked Ukitake and Kyoraku.

"Unfortunately, I barely have enough spiritual pressure to perform shikai; performing Bankai is out of the question."

"Same here," Ukitake stated.

"And that makes three," Stark said. "Looks like Vannan had more of a lasting effect than we thought he would. This might get a bit rough."

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled while dodging a gillian. "We'll help you as soon as we take care of this guy! Just don't die!"

Ichigo nodded and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't need any help!"

"Don't need any help?" Aizen repeated. "I hope you're not underestimating me."

"Nope," Ichigo coolly replied. "I just know I can beat you."

Aizen smiled a little wider at this comment. "Even if you do need help, you won't get it for a long time."

"And why is that?"

"Don't think I didn't plan on this happening," Aizen bragged. "Why do you think I ordered all of my arrancar to only hunt down Captains? It's because I knew that even if they didn't win, I knew they could at least wear the captains down. Fura is more of a challenge than they think, and even though he's facing several captains, they won't be able to perform Bankai, putting them on even ground."

"You son of a—"

"A good plan needs many layers," Aizen interrupted. "Who do you think you're dealing with here?"

Ichigo attempted to strike him, but Aizen disappeared and was behind him. "I take it you don't know what my swords power is?"

"Of course I know what it is," Ichigo replied. "It's the power of hypnosis."

"Ah, but you've never seen it in action before have you?"

"No, I haven't," Ichigo admitted.

"I see," Aizen said, pointing his sword down to the ground. "Then allow me to introduce you to that world. Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

Aizen dropped his sword as it completely shattered. Ichigo watched this in confusion. "What did you just do?"

"I just performed the initiation," Aizen smirked. "After seeing Kyoka Suigetsu just once, any time after that, you will completely succumb to my hypnosis."

"Looks to me like you just got rid of your sword," Ichigo stated.

"I have," explained Aizen. "It will take a while for it to reform, but once it does and I release my shikai again, even you won't be immune to my hypnosis powers."

"Then I'll just have to get you before your sword reforms," yelled Ichigo as he darted towards Aizen.

"All I need is kido to get rid of you at this stage," Aizen scoffed as he jumped in the air right before Ichigo struck.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho."

Aizen shot a red ball from his hand towards Ichigo. The 5th Division Captain saw it and quickly got out of the way. As soon as the ball hit the ground, however, a massive explosion erupted, sending Ichigo off-balance. Surprise showed on his face when Aizen was right behind him, holding his right arm out.

"Hado 33: Sokatsui."

Several blue strands of energy shot out of Aizen's hand and flew towards Ichigo. He gave a small startled grunt as he leapt in the air to avoid them all. He suddenly felt Aizen's presence behind him. Before he could react, Aizen deftly kicked him in the spine, sending him to the ground.

Ichigo hit the ground with a thud, but Aizen didn't wait for him to recover. "Hado 54: Haien."

A purple disc of energy flew straight towards Ichigo, who was forced to roll to the side to avoid it. He quickly leapt up as Aizen landed on the ground. "Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo yelled, shooting his black energy at him.

"Bakudo 81: Danku."

Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho hit Aizen's see-through barrier, stopping it completely. "Not bad," Aizen said. "Forcing me to use a level 81 Kido spell. Your Getsuga Tensho must be getting stronger."

To Aizen's surprise, Ichigo appeared behind him with his sword ready. "At least put your mask on when you don't have a weapon Aizen, or else you'll lose." He then swung his blade towards his enemy.

"Bakudo 8: Seki," Aizen said as a small round shield appeared on his arm.

Ichigo's sword collided with the shield, making his sword bounce off. Suddenly Aizen was behind Ichigo with a smile. "I'll lose?" he repeated. "You're the one that's not even in Bankai and you think you can beat me."

"I won't use my Bankai at least until you use your shikai," Ichigo declared.

"A foolish choice," Aizen said as he disappeared again.

Ichigo looked around to try and find his enemy. Without warning, Aizen appeared right in front of him, startling Ichigo. "Hado 58: Tenran."

A large tornado shot out of Aizen's hands and sent Ichigo flying. The wind was so powerful that little cuts were appearing all over his body. He landed on his feet a few feet away. Starting to feel a little frustrated, Ichigo ran towards Aizen with impressive speed. Aizen, however, just stood there calmly, holding his hand out.

"Hado 1: Sho."  
A powerful force sent Ichigo back to his original position. "Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled again.

"Bakudo 39: Enkosen."

A large yellow circle of energy appeared in front of Aizen and completely stopped Ichigo's attack. "I feel like this is getting a bit tedious," Aizen said before disappearing behind Ichigo. He didn't give him any time to react and declared, "Bakudo 63: Sajo Sabaku."

Golden chains suddenly appeared around Ichigo and wrapped themselves around his arms. "Agh!" Ichigo said, dropping his sword as he tried to break free from their grasp.

"Give it up," Aizen smiled while walking towards the bound but struggling Ichigo. "I'm only using kido and I'm still beating you. Isn't that a good enough sign to give up?"

"Hell no!" Ichigo spat. "I'm not gonna stop until I beat you!"

"You certainly have a valiant spirit, but your skills can't compare to mine. Remember this Kurosaki, you can't stand up to God."

Ichigo still struggled, simply making Aizen sigh. "It seems you'll have to learn the hard way."

Aizen suddenly struck out, punching Ichigo hard in his gut. The power was so great that it sent Ichigo flying hard to the ground. He spat up blood as Aizen continued talking. "I was able to beat your leader, so what makes you think that you can win against me? Such confidence is laudable, yet foolish nonetheless. It's time for you to be put in your place Kurosaki."

"RAAAAH!" Ichigo roared as he jumped to his feet and bolted towards Aizen.

"A frontal attack will only result in failure," Aizen warned.

To the traitor's surprise, however, Ichigo slid last him and was able to grab his sword and jumped back to his feet again; Aizen smirked at this.

"Impressive, but still useless; you won't be able to use your sword with your arms bound like that."

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Surprise showed on Aizen's face for a second as Ichigo's sword at his side shot out a black blast. Aizen jumped to avoid it and declared, "Hado 63: Raikoho!"

A yellow lightning blast shot down to Ichigo, but he was able to avoid it and appear behind Aizen. "Getsuga—"

"I told you it's useless!" Aizen said, kicking Ichigo from behind.

Ichigo grunted in pain as he skidded back a few feet. He was attempting another attack, but Aizen was suddenly in front of him. Ichigo quickly got over the shock and yelled, "Getsuga Ten—"

He was cut off yet again as Aizen delivered a swift head-butt, canceling Ichigo's attack. Aizen picked him up by his collar and stared at him. "I've grown tired of this game. I'll finish you off and then I'll kill all of your friends fighting so desperately right now, and that'll be the end of it. Although for what it's worth, you were rather interesting."

He threw Ichigo to the ground and aimed his hand at him. He was about to attack, but was stopped as Ichigo's spiritual pressure began to increase. "What?" he said.

"I won't let you!" Ichigo roared as he jumped to his feet.

To Aizen's surprise, the chains around his arm began to crack. "Impossible," a surprised Aizen said. "He's able to break the kido through sheer energy and willpower."

The kido chains around Ichigo finally broke and Ichigo looked straight at his enemy with rage in his eyes. "Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled.

Aizen saw it was a much bigger size than before and declared, "Hado 88: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!"

A massive blue blast shot out of both Aizen's hands and collided with Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho, resulting in a massive explosion. Aizen could see where Ichigo was when the smoke cleared and decided to end it, forming a black circle on his index and middle finger.

"Hado 90: Kurohitsugi!"

A black box began to form around Ichigo, and he immediately knew what spell this was. Aizen smirked at him as the box began to close around him. "Goodbye Kurosaki; it was nice fighting you."

Before the box closed fully, Ichigo muttered, "Bankai…"

The box fully closed around Ichigo, but before the attack could be completely carried through, Ichigo burst through the wall with his black katana, heading straight towards Aizen. Surprise was definitely present on the traitors face as his adversary was speeding towards him.

Right before Ichigo struck Aizen's body, he felt his sword hit something else. He looked up and saw Aizen there with his sword, parrying Ichigo's blow. He smiled at the Captain and stated, "Looks like I can reform my sword again. Too bad Kurosaki, you almost got the better of me."

"Damn!" Ichigo yelled as he leapt back.

"But you know," Aizen chided, "you did say you would only use your Bankai against my shikai."

"Sometimes minds change," Ichigo bluntly stated.

"True," Aizen replied. "I think my mind has changed as well. I do deem you worthy of fighting against my shikai."

Aizen's smile stayed on his face as he aimed his sword downward and declared, "Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

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Ichigo forces Aizen to activate his shikai, but will he be able to resist Aizen's illusions?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	34. Hypocrisy of Hypnosis

Aizen releases his zanpakuto to kill Ichigo. Does he have a chance? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**34: Hypocrisy of Hypnosis**

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

Aizen dropped his zanpakuto as it shattered into dust. "Don't tell me you cast your sword away again," Ichigo said.

Aizen stood there for a few seconds simply smiling. "If you're not gonna move, then I'm gonna have to—"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I didn't lose my sword this time," Ichigo heard behind him.

Ichigo tried his best to turn around, but a slash across his back made him scream in pain. He quickly leapt away and saw Aizen standing there with blood on his blade. "How'd you…"

"I already told you," Aizen explained. "You are no longer immune to my hypnosis." He pointed to the illusion he used to fool Ichigo. "Take a look."

Ichigo looked at the Aizen he was focused on and saw it melting away into nothing. He sighed heavily and cursed to himself inwardly. He gripped his sword and quickly turned around yelling, "Getsuga Tensho!"

His black blast flew and hit Aizen dead on in his chest. Much to Ichigo's chagrin, however, he simply shattered into several pieces. "Damn…" he muttered.

"The power of my Kyoka Suigetsu is flawless," Aizen stated. "Even if you're aware of its effects, you cannot resist its influence. You have lost this fight Kurosaki."

"_I haven't even hit him once,_" Ichigo thought, "_and yet I'm bleeding all over the place. If only I could find him. I just need to focus._" Ichigo closed his eyes and tried to find where Aizen was hiding.

"I wouldn't just stand around if I was you," Aizen warned. "It leaves you open to unnecessary attacks."

"Gotcha!" Ichigo yelled looking in a particular direction. "Getsuga Tensho!"

Surprise showed on Aizen's as the blast flew towards him. It hit him straight on in the chest and sent him to the floor. "Yes!" Ichigo said audibly.

"You are a slow learner," he heard a voice behind him say. "I thought you'd know that was an illusion by now."

"I expect that," Ichigo coolly replied while turning around.

He was able to parry a surprised Aizen's blade right before it would have cut him down. Ichigo smiled triumphantly and yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!"

His swords blast shot out, completely engulfing everything in front of him. "Did I get him?" he asked himself.

"No."

Ichigo attempted to turn around, but failed as his shoulder was sliced open by Aizen's sword. Ichigo fell on his knees and asked, "But that wasn't an illusion."

"You're right," Aizen smirked. "But just because it's the real me doesn't mean I can't dodge attacks. I'm not totally reliant on my illusions."

"Is that so?" Ichigo smiled. He suddenly swung his blade at Aizen's legs. "Then how 'bout this?!"

To his surprise, his legs shattered instantly and Aizen disappeared. Before he could even sense Aizen, Ichigo took off in fear of being struck down again. "Damn it!" he said to himself. "He's able to perfectly switch right in front of me without me knowing it."

"And that's why I am a god," Ichigo heard above him.

Sure enough, Aizen was right there with his hand aimed at Ichigo. "Hado 63: Raikoho."

Ichigo was forced to stop and leap back to avoid the yellow lightning. "_Damn it, he doesn't give me enough time to concentrate and find where he is._" Ichigo quickly took off again in hopes to find a strategy.

"Are you supposed to be going fast?" Aizen taunted.

Ichigo looked behind to see Aizen behind him, gaining speed every second on him. Enraged at this sight, Ichigo did a quick turn-around. "I'll show you fast!"

He was suddenly behind Aizen, and not giving him time to react, slashed his back. The struck Aizen shattered on contact, making Ichigo give a roar of frustration. "COME OUT AND FIGHT LIKE A FUCKING MAN!"

"Getting angry over something so trivial is not going to help your situation," Aizen simply replied, appearing behind Ichigo.

Ichigo quickly turned around and slashed Aizen across his chest, but his target simply melted. Before Aizen could strike with impunity, Ichigo turned around again and yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Aizen was surprised as Ichigo's blast flew right towards him. "Clever, but…" he slashed his sword right across the blade dissipating it completely, "…not good enough."

Ichigo was suddenly above Aizen, surprising him, but not slowing his reflexes. The traitor was able to turn around and parry Ichigo's blast. Smiling, Aizen used his free hand and pointed his index finger at him.

"Hado 4: Byakuria."

The white blast grazed Ichigo's shoulder, but forced him to fly back. "Damn," he said to himself. "Almost…"

"Is that what you think?" Aizen laughed. "I've had my reflexes honed by a lifetime of combat, so even if you do see through my illusion, I can easily block your blows."

"That's what you say," Ichigo replied, "but I'm slowly figuring out your moves; sooner or later I'm gonna hit you."

"As if someone like you could land a blow on me," mocked Aizen. "You'll be dead before you can even scratch me."

"We'll just see about that," Ichigo retorted before disappearing.

Aizen gave a small chuckle before turning around and parrying Ichigo's strike. "Any attack will have the same results."

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo quickly stated.

Surprise showed on Aizen's face as the blast hit him dead on. Aizen appeared a few feet away and Ichigo quickly ran to him. "What's the matter?" he asked. "I just used that move a while ago, yet this one caught you off-guard. I hope you're not getting too overconfident."

"Don't push your luck whelp!" Aizen said suddenly appearing in front of Ichigo with his sword poised to stab.

Ichigo quickly brought his sword up to parry it, but Aizen put more strength into it and was able to graze the side of Ichigo's neck. The Captain grunted, but quickly used his free hand to grab Aizen's outstretched arm and hold on tight. Not giving Aizen a chance to get away, he brought his sword crashing down diagonally across the traitor's chest. Unfortunately for Ichigo, Aizen pulled away at the last minute and only got cut by the tip of the sword, giving him a light wound.

A triumphant smile appeared on Ichigo's face as the look of dismay appeared on Aizen's. "Well, what was that you were saying about not scratching you?"

To Ichigo's surprise, Aizen started laughing at this. Slowly at first, but it got very audible. "Did you think this would stress me out?" he said between laughs. "One little scratch? That's nothing to get angry over."

"Well I didn't expect that kind of reaction," Ichigo admitted.

"Besides, you should stop worrying about my little wound and think of yourself," warned Aizen.

"Wha—"

Pain shot through Ichigo's body as his chest suddenly opened up from a sword slash. "When…?" he asked in pain, dropping to his knees.

"When you gave me that little wound," Aizen replied. "Guess it didn't open up until now."

"You…" Ichigo said, gripping his chest to try and stop the bleeding.

To Aizen and Ichigo's surprise, black energy started to envelop his wound, stopping most of the bleeding. "Interesting…" Aizen stated. "So you're able to heal yourself using your hollow powers."

"I am?" Ichigo said to himself, catching Aizen's attention.

"_He doesn't appear to do it willingly, more like a passive skill_," Aizen thought to himself. "_I must examine this further to find out his secret._"

"You should put on your hollow mask," Aizen stated to his adversary.

"What?"

"It's clear you need it," explained the traitor. "If you don't put it on, you'll die eventually. It will give you a better fighting chance."

"Hell no!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I'm not using my hollow mask when you're just using your shikai."

"Just like with your Bankai, eh?" Aizen asked. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not like Grimmjow…" He suddenly appeared behind Ichigo, "…I won't wait for you to. If die without it on, you die without it on."

Ichigo realized the truth in his voice and quickly disappeared to avoid Aizen's strike. Ichigo appeared in the air and went to strike down Aizen, but only hit an illusion of him. "Back to the same old attacks, eh? Haven't you learned it's futile?"

"_He's right_," Ichigo thought. "_I was lucky to get one strike on him. If this continues, he really will kill me_. _I hate to admit it, but I do need to use my mask._"

Ichigo stopped for a second, and that was the second Aizen appeared behind him with his sword raised upward. "It's over Kurosaki!" he declared.

Ichigo reached to the top of his head and pulled down his hollow mask swiftly. Aizen felt the rise in his spiritual energy as his sword went down. Ichigo turned around and parried the surprised Aizen's sword.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The biggest blast Ichigo shot yet erupted from Ichigo's sword hitting Aizen. Unfortunately for Ichigo, his adversary was faster than him and replaced himself with an illusion. The real Aizen appeared right next to Ichigo with his sword ready to strike. To his surprise, Ichigo reacted faster than normal and turned to his side, slashing the surprised Aizen lightly in his right arm.

"Tch," Aizen said before leaping away.

Before Aizen could even land on his spot, Ichigo was ready. "Getsuga Tensho!"

The black blast flew at amazing speeds towards its target. "Bakudo 81: Danku!" Aizen quickly exclaimed.

Despite the powerful barrier, Ichigo's blast demolished it on contact, only slowing it down a fraction of a second. It turned out that was enough time for Aizen as he quickly landed and jumped into the air.

While in the air, Aizen looked up to see Ichigo already waiting with his sword ready to strike. Aizen gave a grunt of annoyance before getting cut down. The illusion shattered into thousands of pieces.

Aizen was able to appear behind Ichigo, but his enemy quickly turned around and sped towards him, slicing Aizen's shoulder. He didn't falter, however, as he kept his stance declaring, "Hado 88: Hiryuge—"

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The unprepared Aizen wasn't able to finish his spell before Ichigo's black blast engulfed him completely. To everyone's surprise, it was the real Aizen that was hit as he barreled to the ground, landing lightly on his feet. Ichigo landed a few feet away from him and stared at him with his jet black eyes.

Aizen appeared appeared to be slightly wounded by the attack, but nothing major could be visibly seen. Despite this, he was still confused. "_He's able to see through my illusions flawlessly_," he thought. "_It's as if he's not thinking about it anymore, just acting on pure instinct_."

A smile slowly appeared on his face. "I see," he stated.

"See what?"

"How you're able to see through my illusions," explained the traitor. "You see, the secret of my shikai's power is that people try to think logically to try and deceive me, but that in turn gets them distracted. With your hollow mask on, however, you act entirely on instinct and can sense where I'm coming from next, nullifying that effect."

"So does that mean you're going to use your Bankai?" inquired Ichigo.

"Of course not," Aizen replied. "But it does mean I'm going to have to up the ante a bit."

"How so?"

"You'll see," he smirked. "Mesmerize, Kyoka Suigetsu!"

White mist then began to emanate from Aizen's sword. Soon, mist enveloped a large portion of the battlefield.

"What did you just do?" asked a confused Ichigo.

"I just activated my shikai's second form."

"Second form?"

"Most shinigami can only have one shikai form, but the most powerful are able to awaken a shikai's second form," bragged the traitor. "It's activated with another release command and is powerful enough to take down the most skilled of enemies."

"What's all this mist for?" inquired the Vizard.

"Mist is the source of hypnosis," Aizen explained. "It muddles the mind and makes them see things that aren't there."

"Well it looks like it won't help you with an attack!" Ichigo yelled while charging to his enemy.

Right before Ichigo struck, Rukia appeared out of nowhere in front of him. "Rukia?" asked the confused Captain, stopping his attack. "What are you doing here?" When his lieutenant didn't respond, he took another step forward. "Rukia, it's me, Ichigo. Why are you here? You need to—"

Ichigo was cut off as a sharp pain appeared from his back. He gave out a grunt of pain and dropped to his knees. Aizen stood behind him, with a triumphant grin on his face. "Don't waste your time talking to her; she's just an illusion of the mind."

Rukia then began to disappear in a cloud of white smoke, leaving Ichigo confused and in pain. Aizen, however, let out a triumphant laugh.

"You'd better be careful what you see around here," he chided. "You never know if they're a friend…or a foe."

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What power does Aizen's second shikai hold?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	35. Mesmerize the Mind

Ichigo faces his inner demons to try and defeat Aizen. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**35: Mesmerize the Mind**

Ichigo spat out a good amount of blood as a portion of his mask shattered. Aizen smiled at this and let out a hearty laugh. "Doesn't take much to wound you does it boy?"

Surprisingly to Aizen, Ichigo disappeared from his spot. Aizen didn't move from his spot. After several seconds, Ichigo decided to make his move, sneaking up behind on Aizen. Right before he could strike, however, Aizen was able to duck and slash Ichigo's legs lightly, forcing him back. Aizen didn't wait as he made to stab Ichigo in his chest. Fortunately for Ichigo, his instincts took over and was able to knock the sword out of the way, giving him only a light slash on his chest. The Captain leapt out of the way to avoid any further conflict.

"How did you know where I was?" he asked. "I thought I did a decent job of masking my spiritual pressure."

"You did," Aizen smirked. "It was nearly flawless. Unfortunately for you, however, I can sense anyone who enters this mist, no matter how well they hide themselves."

"Damn…" Ichigo said with frustration.

"You are not match for my shikai's second form; this is the difference between a god and a simple mortal. My illusions will pulverize you to your very core and leave you a broken spirit."

"Save your pseudo-philosophy for yourself," Ichigo said, disappearing.

He reappeared behind Aizen with his sword ready. "They're wasted on a 'simple mortal' like me," he finished.

He brought his sword down quickly on the unsuspecting Aizen. To Ichigo's surprise, his adversary's body gave very willingly as his sword easily sliced him across his chest. It was then Ichigo realized that the Aizen he cut was merely mist. His whole body disappeared into nothing. Ichigo quickly looked around and tried to sense Aizen's spiritual pressure, but found nothing.

Pain shot through him quickly when he felt Aizen's blade pierce his left shoulder. Aizen quickly pulled his blade out, but saw that black energy quickly stopped the bleeding and patched the wound up. He went to swing again, but Ichigo turned around and parried the blow.

"How can you hide yourself so easily?"

"Did I forget to mention that the mist hides my spiritual pressure completely?" smirked the traitor.

"Getsuga Tensho!" yelled an angered Ichigo.

Aizen was cut down, but turned into mist again, angering Ichigo further. Ichigo leapt up to amazing heights, eventually leaving the mist that crowded the battlefield. "Yes!" he triumphantly said. "Now I shouldn't be able to fall prey to his illusions!"

"You think I didn't foresee this?" Ichigo heard above him.

He looked up to see Aizen even higher than him with a grin on his face.

"_How'd I not sense him?_" Ichigo thought.

Before Ichigo could react, Aizen gave Ichigo a powerful kick to his cheek, shattering his mask and sending him back down into the mist. He hit the ground with a thud, destroying the rest of his mask on impact. He stayed on the ground for a second pondering his situation.

"_Now we're right back to square one_," he thought. "_I had the upper hand before, but now he's giving me a thrashing. Am I thinking about it too logically again? But if I use my instincts too much, it emboldens him inside of me, and I don't want him to come out again._"

Aizen landed lightly on his feet. "What, still down?" he asked. "I didn't hit you that hard."

Ichigo jumped up without warning and threw his mask back on. Giving an unearthly shriek, he went straight for Aizen again. Aizen quickly parried the blow before smirking and turning into mist. Ichigo didn't waste any time as he leapt towards the real Aizen again.

Aizen saw him coming and ducked his initial strike, cutting his stomach lightly. His wound healed much faster than before, which made Aizen interested. He quickly ducked away and hid himself from the enemy to think.

"_His healing is not unlike a hollow's instant regeneration_," he thought to himself. "_Does that mean he has complete control of his hollow powers, or he's simply letting his hollow side take over?_"

Ichigo let out another roar and charged towards the real Aizen. The traitor didn't move and continued to think. "_There's no way he has complete control of his hollow form. It requires an incredible amount of concentration and based off of his behavior, it's got to be his hollow side coming out._"

Aizen was forced to stop thinking and dodge Ichigo's attack. "Hado 1: Sho."

He was able to force Ichigo back and disappear for the time being. "_He's able to track me very accurately. So I guess I'll have to get his old self back. But how do I do that?_" A slow malicious smile appeared on his face. "I know how…"

Ichigo was finally able to track down Aizen and rushed towards him. Aizen stood there, two figures standing in front of him. As soon as Ichigo could strike, he saw that Orihime and Uryu were standing in front of his enemy.

He stopped himself forcibly and muttered, "Inoue…Ishida…?"

"What's the matter Kurosaki?" Aizen asked. "I'm right here; why don't you do something?"

"Don't attack him Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaimed. "If you do, we'll die!"

Ichigo took a steady step forward.

"If you do anything to hurt Inoue…" Ishida warned. When Ichigo took another step forward, Uryu materialized out a bow and aimed it at Ichigo. "…I'll kill you!"

Despite this warning, Ichigo took another step, then another step. Slowly but surely, he proceeded to the smirking Aizen. Another step was taken, but Ichigo suddenly started shuddering and stopping in his track. He let out a blood-curdling shriek as his mask began to dematerialize. The conflicted Captain grabbed his head and started sweating profusely.

"**What are you doing you fucking idiot?**" Aizen heard Ichigo said. "**Hurry up and cut them down!**"

"No…" Ichigo responded to himself. "They're my friends…can't hurt them…"

"**Are you stupid?**" he shrieked to himself. "**They're just illusions! Cut them down and get to your enemy!**"

"No!" Ichigo stated firmly this time. He then reached for the remainder of his mask and began to rip it off. "Go away! This is my fight!"

"**No you fucking idiot! You don't stand a chance without me!**"

Ichigo successfully ripped the rest of his mask off and let out a sigh of relief. He stared back at Aizen with anger. "_His problems were more deep-rooted than I thought_," Aizen said to himself. "_Regardless, I was able to bring him back; the rest should be easy_."

"So now what Kurosaki?" Aizen asked. "Will you cut through your friends to get to me?"

Ichigo stared at him for a second before responding. "You'd go as low as to use my friends as a shield?"

"Well, so to speak."

"That's low!" responded the angry Ichigo. "I'll never forgive you Aizen!"

Ichigo suddenly rushed towards his enemy with his sword raised. Aizen saw him run right through the illusions of his friends and go straight for the enemy. The traitor quickly side-stepped the attack, but got a cut to his cheek in the process.

"You'd cut through your friends like that? That's pretty cold Kurosaki," Aizen taunted. "What was that whole argument for then?"

"I'm well aware they were just illusions," Ichigo retorted. "But I still couldn't bring myself to harm them like my hollow form wanted. So I decided to retake control and go straight for you, rather than attacking my friends in the process."

"Admirable reasoning," Aizen smirked, "but foolish. For you have fallen into my trap, and without your hollow guiding your instincts, you cannot hope to find me again."  
Aizen suddenly disappeared into a mist, leaving Ichigo alone again. The Captain closed his eyes for a second and quickly turned in one direction, yelling, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Ichigo's blast shot deceptively fast towards the real Aizen. He realized its potency and quickly moved his hand to bring a shield of mist towards him, successfully intercepting the attack.

He landed only to see Ichigo charging towards him again. Aizen swiftly brought up another mist shield between him and his enemy's sword. To Aizen's surprise, however, Ichigo's sword burst through the shield straight towards him again. The traitor tried his best to side-step it, but ended up with a cut right above his eye, sending blood streaming down his face.

"You!" he said starting to get aggravated. "How are you able to sense where I am?"

"While it's true I wasn't able to use my instinct to pinpoint your location before," Ichigo explained, "even after a while of watching my hollow side do it, I picked it up eventually."

Aizen surprisingly smirked at this. "Able to pick it up eventually eh? Then I see it's useless to keep up this charade or illusions. In order to win, I must go on the attack!"

"Does that mean you're gonna use your Bankai?" asked a curious Ichigo.

"You're always Bankai this and Bankai that. Talk to me about activating it after you defeat this!"

To Ichigo's confusion, Aizen's spiritual energy began to rise. When it was at its peak, more Aizen's began to emerge from Aizen, making five in all.

"Five of you?" Ichigo asked in a confused state.

All five Aizen's smiled at this and replied, "Prepare to fall prey to my shikai's greatest technique, Gutaiteki Zanzou (Tangible Afterimage)!"

With that, all five Aizen's moved towards Ichigo to attack. Ichigo started to move, but soon saw he was surrounded by all of his enemies. Thinking fast, Ichigo jumped up, only to have his enemies follow him. He looked at the closest one and aimed for him.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The blast hit Aizen, only to have it go straight through him, leaving him unharmed. "What?" a surprised Ichigo said.

"Hahaha! Normal attacks can't hurt them," one Aizen explained. "Only one of us is the real Aizen; the rest are just more illusions!"

"Damn!" Ichigo cursed beginning to move again.

Before he could reach the ground, one Aizen moved straight in front of him and slashed his chest. Pain shot through Ichigo's body as he slashed at his enemy, only to find it was an illusion.

"If it's an illusion, then they're attacks shouldn't hurt!" Ichigo yelled to his enemy.

"That's where you're wrong," Aizen explained. "While they are just illusions that you can't hurt, your mind perceives them as real and therefore, any attack they use signals the pain in your mind to make it seem like you're getting wounded, when in reality you really aren't!"

"You underhanded bastard!"

"It's my strongest technique for a reason," Aizen bragged. "And if you think that's bad, how about this?"

When he finished, all five Aizen's put their hands on the top of their heads and pulled down their hollow masks, amplifying their power. "Uh-oh," was all Ichigo could say.

In a flash, all five masked Aizen's surrounded Ichigo. Before they could attack, Ichigo threw his hollow mask back on and hopped into the air. All five of them pursued, forcing Ichigo to look back and attack.

"Getsuga Tensho!"  
The blasts flew through two of them, but they were only illusions, doing nothing. "Shit!" Ichigo said before taking off again. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"There's no use running Kurosaki," he heard Aizen yell. "I can tell where you are no matter what."

"What the hell can I do?" asked a frustrated Ichigo.

"**_Let me help you out_**_,_" he heard his hollow say to him.

"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled to himself. "I don't need your help."

"**_Don't worry, I won't try and take you over again or rather, I can't right now_**," his hollow ensured. "**_I need to give you some advice because if you die, I die_**."

"I don't need your advice!" Ichigo yelled. "I can figure this out on my own!"

"**_Is that so?_**" the hollow chided. "**_Then you might wanna look out_**."

Ichigo started paying attention again and saw one Aizen in front of him, staring at him through his mask. Not offering any words, he slashed Ichigo across his chest. Ichigo saw blood fly out and started to scream from pain.

"**_Don't get too overexcited_**," the hollow warned. "**_That blood is just an illusion, your mind simply sending pain. I assure you there's not a physical wound on you right now, just mental ones_**."

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo yelled, dispelling the illusion for a second.

Ichigo took that second to start fleeing again.

"**_You'll die without my help_**," his inner-hollow persisted. "**_You don't need to trust me, just trust that I don't want you to die!_**"

"Fine, what advice do you want to give?!" asked an exasperated Ichigo.

"**_Aizen's zanpakuto revolves around two things_**," the hollow explained, "**_logic and instinct. In order to defeat him, his opponent must have both of them. Up until now, his moves have been switching around from using logic to using instinct. You've been trying to fight him using the instinct you just recently acquired. With this type of attack, you need to focus more on using logic_**."

"Hell of a lot that helps me!" Ichigo stated, dodging one of the masked Aizen's attacks and taking off again. "How am I supposed to use logic to defeat all five of them?"

"**_Do I have to explain everything to you?_**" the hollow asked. "**_Right now, Aizen's counting on you using your instinct to attack all five. What you need to do is use common sense and logic to find out which is the real Aizen and just attack him_**."

"And how do I do that?"

"**_Just concentrate for a minute and you should be able to tell which the real Aizen is easily_** **_by tracking his spiritual pressure_**."

"This mist hides his spiritual pressure!" Ichigo insisted. "That's impossible!"

"**_You really aren't paying attention are you?_**" the hollow mocked. "**_If you have, you would have realized how much energy Aizen is using up just to attack you. So much in fact, he's had to draw in power from the mist surrounding him, which is technically his spiritual energy, negating the ability to hide his spiritual pressure in here_**."

Ichigo thought of this for a second. "You're right!" he said. "I can sense one spiritual pressure!"

"**_He's using so much energy it's hard to miss. Now all it will take is one good hit to throw off his concentration and dispel the attack. I'll even lend you some of my power, deal?_**"

"Fine," Ichigo replied. "But I don't want your help after this."

"**_If this works, you won't need it_**."

All five Aizen's were gathered in one place to regroup. "Damn," one said. "I'm taking so much power from the mist I can't accurately track him anymore."

As if by magic, as soon as Aizen finished, Ichigo appeared in front of all of them, staring at them through his mask. "Well, well," all five Aizen's said at once. "Look who decided to show up."

"I'm tired of running," Ichigo stated. "I'll take all five of you out at once."

"A bold ploy to say the least," they mocked. "But useless in the end. It's time to finish this Kurosaki."

With that, all five Aizen's surrounded Ichigo in a circle. "_Focus_," Ichigo thought to himself as they prepared to attack.

To his surprise, they didn't move in, but all five simply charged ceros in their hands. "Cero!" they all said at once.

"Damn!" Ichigo said, realizing the situation.

The Captain quickly leapt in the air to avoid the explosion, and quickly landed back down again. Two Aizen's quickly went behind him, striking to kill.

"**_Heads up behind you_**."

Ichigo quickly turned around and parried both their blows. "Getsuga Tensho!" he declared, putting the two out of commission for a second.

Ichigo quickly charged towards the other three. "_Focus on the one that's exhuming spiritual energy_. _Got you!_"

Aizen realized Ichigo figured out who he was and sent the remaining two to protect them. They both charged ceros and shot it at Ichigo. He leapt to avoid it and was able to leap over the two illusions towards Aizen.

The two remaining illusions reacted faster than Ichigo anticipated and quickly charged two more ceros and shot it at him. "**_Won't be able to dodge these_**," the hollow said. "**_Let me help you out with your endurance_**."

Both blasts hit Ichigo dead on, and Aizen smiled at this. His happiness suddenly turned to fear, however, when he saw Ichigo continuing towards him, damaged, but conscious and rage burning in his eyes.

"**_This is it now; he's wide open and shouldn't have enough energy to dodge or make an illusion in time. I'll give you some of my energy; make sure to hit him with all you got!_**"

Ichigo nodded as he raised his sword overhead, charging a Getsuga Tensho on the tip of his sword. The energy suddenly swelled to massive proportions as Aizen aimed one of his hands at Ichigo and started charging a cero.

Ichigo was descending from the air quickly towards the real Aizen. "GETSUGA…"

"Damn you!" Aizen yelled right before Ichigo struck.

"…TENSHO!"

Ichigo struck his sword along with the blast right when Aizen released his cero, causing a massive explosion, completely engulfing both fighters.

Seconds after the attack, Ichigo barreled out of the smoke, his hollow mask completely destroyed. He coughed up a good amount of blood before looking around and seeing no more Aizen's around. He sighed at this and used his sword as a cane to struggle to his feet.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Ichigo turned around to see the smoke clear completely with Aizen standing on his own two feet. His shirt was completely ripped open, revealing his chest and the massive scar where Ichigo struck. His hollow mask was destroyed as well, and blood seemed to flow from his mouth as he spoke.

"I'm surprised you were able to destroy my greatest technique," he said, still chuckling. "I guess you mortals really do have no respect for a God."

"You don't look too much like a God to me," Ichigo retorted.

"No, I guess now," Aizen replied. "But once I defeat you Kurosaki, I will descend into the divine and truly become one. You kept on harping about how you wanted to see my Bankai and I told you to talk to me about it after you defeat my attack."

"Yeah…" Ichigo replied.

"Heh heh heh, well I think you've deserved to see it. Well Kurosaki, you desired it, so here it is. Bankai…"

A fresh wave of spiritual energy erupted from Aizen as Ichigo was forced to shield his eyes. He suddenly heard a voice calling to him, and pulling him in. He couldn't resist its voice, and before he knew it, he was sucked in.

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Ichigo woke up on a very familiar building. He looked around at several other buildings surrounding him and realized he was. "My soul…why am I here?"

"I brought you here," Ichigo heard a familiar voice say.

He turned around to see Zangetsu standing there, his long black hair flowing in the breeze, studying Ichigo from beneath his dark shades.

"Old Man Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked. "Why are you here? I thought my hollow form took you over."

"While it's true that he did take me over," Zangetsu replied, "you weakened him by rejecting him from taking you over, and he drained the last of his energy in the attack he helped you with; so naturally I could take over again."

"Why did you call me here?" Ichigo questioned. "Aizen just activated his Bankai and I need to fight him."

"You think I don't realize that?" Zangetsu replied. "I brought you here because I need to tell you something very important about your enemy; so get over here."

"R-Right…" Ichigo said, walking over towards his zanpakuto.

When Ichigo was within range, Zangetsu grinned psychotically and pulled out a katana from under his robe and aimed it towards Ichigo's head. Luckily, he reacted fast enough to get away with just a horizontal slash from the bridge of his nose until his right cheek.

Ichigo quickly jumped back and stared at Zangetsu in horror. "Why…?" he asked in bewilderment.

Zangetsu simply stood there with a psychotic grin and finished his sentence from before.

"…Kantsuu Kyoka Suigetsu (Penetrating Mirror Flower, Water Moon)!"

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Is this the power of Aizen's Bankai?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	36. Requiem for a Dream

Aizen's Bankai turns out to be a bit too much for Ichigo. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**36: Requiem for a Dream**

"Zangetsu, why?" asked a confused Ichigo.

Zangetsu smiled at this as he shouldered his blade. "You really are slow aren't you?" he mocked. "Oh well, I guess I might as well show you."

"What?"

Still keeping his smile, Zangetsu's skin began to melt, revealing Aizen standing in his place.

"Aizen? How did you get into my soul?"

"Is it really that hard to understand?" asked the traitor. "It is quite simply my Bankai's special ability."

"Special ability?"

Aizen sighed at this as he shook his head. "I guess someone like you needs a better explanation."

Without an explanation, a large rectangle appeared behind him in the sky. A picture then showed of Ichigo and Aizen standing in the middle of the mist, unmoving. "This is what we're doing right now," Aizen explained. "As far as everyone else knows, we're just standing still staring at each other. They would have no idea that a battle is going on inside of your soul right now."

"And what would happen if some of the other shinigami came and attacked you while we're fighting?" asked a grinning Ichigo.

"They won't be able too," Aizen explained, "the hypnotic powers of Kyoka Suigetsu hides our presence from anyone who steps into the mist. And even if they sense something is amiss, I can sense anyone within a ten foot radius and I can immediately leave and go back to my own body."

"You bastard…" Ichigo started.

"This is the power of God himself," Aizen explained. "You don't stand a chance against me."

Rage taking over, Ichigo suddenly appeared behind Aizen with his sword ready to kill. He struck dead on, stabbing his enemy right in the heart. After he did this, Aizen's form began to melt, trapping his sword.

Ichigo tried his best to pull his sword out of the melting form, but suddenly noticed Aizen was behind him with his sword raised high. Realizing the danger, Ichigo gave one final pull, freeing his sword and getting him out of the way of Aizen's destructive path, receiving only a small wound to his shoulder.

"Don't think you're safe from pain just because you're inside of your own soul," Aizen smirked. "You may not have any physical injuries when you go back to your own body, but the injuries your mind have received will be just as bad; and if you die in here…"

He was suddenly above Ichigo with his sword poised to strike. Ichigo jumped out of the way as Aizen smashed into one of the windows on the building they were fighting on. He rose up and finished, "…you die out there as well."

"Would it be too optimistic to guess the same works for you?" asked a panting Ichigo.

"I can get wounded just like you," Aizen answered, "but it is too optimistic to think that I could die in here. If pushed that far, I can leave whenever I see fit."

"I see…" Ichigo quietly replied. "Then I guess I'll just have to force you out of here!"

"If you can," Aizen coolly replied.

Ichigo quickly threw on his hollow mask and disappeared again. He appeared right in front of Aizen and yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Aizen smirked and leapt into the sky and stayed there. He sheathed his sword and held both his hands out. White mist began to emanate from them. When he had enough, he closed his eyes and began to shape the mist. It suddenly took the shape of a familiar person.

"You!" Ichigo yelled to the smiling Aizen.

"Now go and destroy," Aizen commanded to the figure he created.

The person landed and revealed himself to be Ikkaku Madarame, shouldering his trademark spear.

"How's it goin' Kurosaki?" asked Ichigo's shinigami friend.

"I know this is just an illusion of yours Aizen!" Ichigo yelled as he leapt towards him.

Before Ichigo could reach him, Ikkaku intervened, blocking Ichigo's attack with his spear. "Stay out of this!" Ichigo yelled.

"I've always been lookin' for a rematch you know," Ikkaku simply replied, pushing Ichigo back to the ground.

"It's no use Kurosaki," replied Aizen from the sky. "These are not like the illusions earlier; it's like fighting a real person, and you'll have to treat them as such."

"Fine," Ichigo replied from behind his mask, "but I won't go easy on you Ikkaku!"

"Like I'd have it any other way," Ikkaku explained.

Ichigo was suddenly behind Ikkaku, causing him surprise. He turned around, but was deftly dealt a hefty slash across his chest. Blood sprayed, but Ikkaku kept his footing, swinging his spear-butt towards Ichigo's head, breaking off a corner of his mask. Ichigo's hand grabbed his spear-butt quickly and yanked, bringing Ikkaku closer towards him. He would have collided with Ichigo had he not met his sword first.

The pseudo-Ikkaku spat out blood and leapt back, panting heavily. He looked back to see Ichigo was gone. His blood ran cold when he sensed his enemy behind him. He turned around and brought his spear up, but it was in vain as Ichigo's sword snapped it in half down the middle, cutting Ikkaku's shoulder at the same time.

Ikkaku held on to both parts of his spear as he leapt a good distance away from his enemy. "Enough," Aizen yelled. "Stop fooling around Ikkaku, and finish him."

"Hear that?" Ikkaku smiled behind his blood. "Boss says I gotta finish you now."

"You don't stand a chance; just step down," Ichigo warned.

"Perhaps in my current state, but I assure you I have an ace up my sleeve. Are you ready Kurosaki?"

Ikkaku slammed both parts of his spear together yelling, "Bankai! Ryumon Hozukimaru!"

"Bankai?" Ichigo asked. "Since when did you have Bankai Ikkaku?"

"You didn't know?" Aizen chuckled. "Well I guess he did try to keep it a secret."

The smoke cleared and Ikkaku leapt out in his new form, both blades ready to kill. Ichigo quickly defended, putting a small crack into one of Ikkaku's swords. The shinigami smiled as he exerted more energy in the power of a blast towards Ichigo, sending him back. He barely had time to recover before Ikkaku was on him again, swinging both his blades in unison.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The black blast hit both of his enemy's blades, causing an even larger crack. He barely leapt out of the way from the destructive attack, but was still hit with the recoil. Cracks appeared on Ichigo's mask as he leapt away from the next attack, appearing in the air.

Before Ichigo knew what to do, Aizen appeared behind him and kicked him in his back, sending Ichigo back into the ground. Ikkaku appeared in front of the grounded Captain and picked him up by his neck.

"Finish him," Aizen said coldly.

Ikkaku nodded and raised one blade high. Before he could strike, however, Ichigo stabbed his blade towards his opponent. Ikkaku reacted quickly by bringing his blade up, but the force was too much, and the cracks finally gave way, leaving the blade to stab Ichigo right in his heart.

"Well…done…" Ikkaku said, dropping him, before fading away into mist.

Aizen stared at this with impassionate eyes and landed gently on the ground. Ichigo smiled and started "Well Aizen, what nex—"

Ichigo was cut off as Aizen suddenly appeared in front of him and brought his sword crashing down on Ichigo's already cracked mask, shattering it completely. The surprised Ichigo retreated and stared at his enemy breathing heavily.

"I think it's time for a change of scene, don't you think?" Aizen asked.

"Does that mean you're finally going to fight me man-to-man?" asked Ichigo.

"You would think that," Aizen laughed. "Sorry, but no. Don't mistake me for a one-trick pony Kurosaki; I have many ways to destroy you. Physically…"

A large amount of white mist emanated from Aizen's hands again, enveloping him and Ichigo. "…and mentally!" he finished.

"What's going on?"

"One of the powers of my Bankai allows me to probe your mind," Aizen explained as he started to disappear from the thickness of the mist. "Let's just say I'm going to bring back some memories for you."

"You think you can beat me like that?" Ichigo asked with a laugh. "As long as I know they're illusions, I can easily shatter them!"

"Tough talk," Aizen calmly replied, "but we'll see how you think after you relive some of them." Before he disappeared completely, he gave his parting words. "Have fun…"

Everything around Ichigo began to darken, and rain began to fall. "What…?" Ichigo asked as the mist began to take shape.

Suddenly, Ichigo was holding the hand of someone. He looked around and saw he was on the sidewalk in Karakura Town, holding the hand of his very own mother.

"Mom…?" he asked slowly.

"Hmm?" she said looking down. "What is it Ichigo?"

Ichigo then looked down at a puddle on the ground and saw his reflection. It was him, but he looked nine years old. He suddenly realized what was happening and replied, "Nothing…"

Confusion ran through him as he realized what was happening. "Mom," he said, "what's the date?"

"Why it's June 17th," she smiled.

6/17! Ichigo knew everything now. Aizen had transported him back to the day his mom had died. Ichigo couldn't help but smile at this. "_He thinks he can break me this easily?_" he thought. "_I remember everything about this day; I'll just do things differently than before_."

Ichigo looked across the street to see a girl his age, with chin-length black hair staring out at the river. "_I know that's Grand Fisher_," Ichigo thought. "_I won't run towards her this time!_"

Despite thinking that, Ichigo began to go against his own will. "Wait here Mom!" he heard himself say against his will, and suddenly took off.

"Ichigo?!" he heard his mom yell.

"_What's going on?_" he thought as he ran towards her. "_My feet are moving against their will. Stop damn it! Stop!_"

"Don't Ichigo!" he heard his mom yell as she ran towards him.

When Ichigo was close enough, he saw the girl transform into the monstrous hollow known as Grand Fisher. "Looks like new prey!" he smiled while raising a claw to attack.

Ichigo couldn't move as he saw Grand Fisher's claw move quickly towards him. His mom suddenly leapt out and knocked him down, covering him and taking the hollow's attack on her own back, severely wounding her.

"Mom?!" Ichigo asked as he looked.

She lifted her head weakly and said through the blood in her mouth, "Why…did you move…you stupid…boy…"

Tears started to well into Ichigo's eyes as he realized what he did. Grand Fisher's laughter, however, brought him to look up at his grinning face.

"I guess I'll leave you alive for now kid," he mocked. "After all, your mother looks so tasty; I don't think I'd be able to eat you without getting full!"

"_Not again…not again…_" Ichigo repeated as his surroundings started to change again.

The entire scenario disappeared as the mist took a new shape.

Ichigo was suddenly on his knees in the middle of a street that was only lit by the single light hanging overhead. The moon shined fully as Ichigo looked forward to see Renji swinging Zabimaru with a grin on his face. Behind him were Rukia and Byakuya.

"_When's this…_?" Ichigo thought to himself.

"Sorry rookie," Renji smirked, "I don't have a personal grudge against you, but you're not fit for this world. I'll finish you slowly, and then I'll be returning!"

"_Oh this is…when Rukia was being taken back to Soul Society_," Ichigo thought through his muddled mind.

Before Renji's segmented blade came down on Ichigo, Rukia threw herself at Renji, stopping his attack. "What the!" said a surprised Renji. "Let go Rukia!"

"Run Ichigo!" Rukia pleaded while still holding onto Renji.

Ichigo then felt his hand move involuntarily to grip his fallen blade. "The hell?" Renji asked. "Still have the strength to move? Well that's good; giving the last blow to a guy who's nearly dead would be boring."

"Run Ichigo!" Rukia pleaded still.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt his spiritual pressure rising. "What's this?" Renji asked.

Ichigo felt himself leap, slicing Renji's shoulder as he sped past him.

"You bastard!" he yelled.

Renji suddenly felt his blade be pushed against his head, causing blood to run down. He leapt back and scowled.

"What's wrong?!" Ichigo heard himself say. "Your movements have become slow! I don't know what happened, but I feel great! I won't lose to someone like you now!"

Ichigo raised his blade and began to bring it down yelling, "I'm going to be the winner; this is the end!"

Before Ichigo could strike, he saw his massive blade was gone, cut off down the middle. He looked to see Byakuya holding the broken piece. Before Ichigo could react, Byakuya grabbed his sheathed blade and struck; he was behind Ichigo before he knew what hit him.

Blood sprayed out of Ichigo's newly acquired wound, causing him to collapse face-first on the ground. "You're slow," Byakuya said, "even when you're toppling down."

"Byakuya!" Ichigo heard Rukia yell.

Rukia then began to run towards Ichigo.

"Idiot!" Renji said turning around and pushing Rukia against a pole. "Don't go near him! Can't you tell he's dead?!"

"Of course I can," Rukia suddenly said coldly. "I just went to make sure."

"Rukia…" Ichigo said through his pain.

"Well what do you know," Rukia said walking towards him, "guess he's still alive." She knelt down by Ichigo and said, "I can't believe you would be beaten so easily; I guess I overestimated you. This has opened my eyes, I don't need you anymore."

"What…?"

"Maybe now I'll get my powers back and not have to worry about you," she smiled while standing up.

"HEY! RUKIA, COME BACK HERE!"

Renji stepped on his back saying, "Are you fucking deaf? She doesn't want any part of you, and I don't blame her. To her, you're just a loser. Now just lay there and die quietly; we're going."

Renji opened up a hell's gate and all three shinigami walked through it and disappeared, leaving Ichigo on the ground in pain.

"_I know it's an illusion…_" Ichigo thought, "_But it still hurts even after all these years…_"

The rain suddenly stopped falling on Ichigo as he looked up to see Mr. Urahara standing there with an umbrella.

"Mr.…Urahara…"

Urahara stared down at Ichigo with a cold stare. "I thought you'd be able to save Rukia," he started, "I had high expectations for you, but I guess you're just not up to par." He dropped the umbrella on Ichigo's back and finished, "Take it as a parting gift to hell. Goodbye Mr. Kurosaki."

Urahara then walked away whistling a tune, leaving Ichigo to die on the cold ground.

The mist began to change shape again, sending Ichigo into another one of his memories.

"Do you get it now?" Ichigo heard someone say. "No matter how much you look like an arrancar, or how similar your moves are, the difference between us is like night and day."

Ichigo looked on to see Ulquiorra in his released form, flying towards him in a pillar in Hueco Mundo. "It's natural that humans and shinigami should imitate hollows in order to grow more powerful," he said, "but humans will never be equal to hollows."

The arrancar picked Ichigo up by his collar and asked, "Why don't you let go of your sword? You can see the difference in our strength; do you still think you can beat me?"

"The difference in strength," Ichigo heard himself say, "what about it? Do you think I should give up just because you're stronger than me? I've always known you were strong; nothing I see now will change my mind. I will defeat you Ulquiorra!"

A surprised Ulquiorra dropped Ichigo saying, "Nonsense, those are the words of someone who doesn't know true despair. So I will show you; this is what true despair looks like!"

Ulquiorra transformed, exerting a massive amount of spiritual pressure, bringing Ichigo to his knees. "Resurreccion, Segunda Etapa," he explained. "I am the only arrancar able to achieve this state; not even Aizen has seen me like this."

Ichigo raised his sword in an attempt to defend himself, but was suddenly stopped by Ulquiorra, who appeared behind him, pushing his head to the side. "Do you fight because of the heart?" Ulquiorra asked. "Then it is the heart that causes you pain; it is because of the heart that you will die!"

"I fight because I have to win," Ichigo yelled.

"Nonsense," Ulquiorra said suddenly appearing in front of Ichigo and wrapping his tail around his neck, lifting him up. "You have lost, and you can do nothing about it," Ulquiorra explained. "You cannot rescue that girl, you cannot save your friends and family, and you cannot save Soul Society; Lord Aizen will be victorious. You are absolutely worthless Kurosaki, a true piece of trash, and now you will die like one."

He started charging a cero on the tip of his fingers. "Goodbye Kurosaki, let your last thought be how worthless you really are."

"_He's right,_" Ichigo thought. "_I really am worthless. I wasn't even able to beat him fairly; Ulquiorra won and I lost…I truly am…a worthless piece of…_"

Ulquiorra's Cero Oscuras then shot through Ichigo's chest, killing him instantly.

The mist began to fade away completely, revealing Ichigo back in his own soul on his knees with tears running down his face; Aizen was standing behind him with a triumphant grin on his face. "Not again…" Ichigo quietly stated.

"Don't worry, it's finally over," Aizen replied, "I'll put an end to your misery right now." He raised his blade right behind Ichigo and readied himself to behead him. "Goodbye Kurosaki; you really were amusing."

Ichigo continued to stand still, being completely broken by Aizen's memories. Before Aizen could finish him, however, another blade blocked his out of nowhere, saving Ichigo's life. Surprise showed on Aizen's face as Ichigo finally snapped out of his trance.

"**Fucking idiot!**" they both heard a voice say. "**How can you let yourself be taken in by simple memories?!**"  
They both saw Hollow Ichigo standing there with a grin on his face. "Who are you?" asked Aizen.

"**Me?**" the hollow smiled, "**I'm nobody. You must be Aizen though.**"

"Indeed," replied the traitor.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked in an angry tone.

"**That's no way to talk to someone who just saved your life,**" replied his counterpart.

Ichigo suddenly realized where he was and quickly grabbed his sword and moved away from Aizen. Rage showed in his eyes as he stared at his adversary. "You!"

"Did you like your stroll down memory lane?" asked a mocking Aizen. "You might have noticed, but I might have changed them around a bit."

"You despicable piece of shit," Ichigo said in a quiet rage. "I'll never forgive you for what you just did."

"I was never looking for your forgiveness," Aizen smiled. "No matter, I guess I'll just have to finish you the old fashioned way."

"**You can't beat him alone,**" Hollow Ichigo said to Ichigo. "**You'll definitely need my help with this one.**"

"While normally I'd disagree," Ichigo started, "I'm filled with too much rage to care right now."

Ichigo looked at Aizen and boldly stated, "Sorry to make you wait Aizen, but let's finally get this double-team started!"

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It's Ichigo and his hollow side vs. Aizen. Who will come out on top?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	37. Requiem for a Dream 2: An Eye for an Eye

Aizen brings back some unexpected visitors to combat Ichigo and his Hollow. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**37: Requiem for a Dream 2: An Eye for an Eye**

"Double-team you say?" Aizen asked with a grin. "Sorry to disappoint, but it doesn't matter how many of you there are; I'm the God in here and I'll still emerge victorious."

"**Talk all you want!**" Hollow Ichigo threatened, "**It still won't save your life.**"

"Your hollow side is quite the rambunctious one isn't he Kurosaki?" chided Aizen. "Hasn't someone ever told you that being boastful does more harm than good?"

"**Hasn't someone ever told you that pride is a sin?!**" the Hollow said suddenly appearing behind Aizen.

His quick sword slash made the illusion of Aizen disappear. "A sin eh?" he heard someone behind him say. "It's a sin itself to stand up to God, and for that you must be punished!"

Hollow Ichigo quickly jumped out of the way of Aizen's sword and landed next to Ichigo.

"Don't be stupid!" Ichigo said to his hollow side. "Aizen's too smart to be taken in by something like that!"

"**Sorry King,**" he replied. "**I was just testing him out to see what we're up against**."

"If he wasn't tough, I wouldn't want your help," Ichigo stated. "But as it stands, I don't think I can take him alone."

"**Then how about I take left and you take right**."

"Sounds good."

"**Then what are we waiting for King? Let's go!**"  
Both Ichigo's disappeared in a flash and appeared on both sides of Aizen, swords ready to stab him in his side.

"Satten Kesshun, I reject!" they both heard someone say.

Suddenly, two golden shields appeared on both sides of the grinning Aizen. Their swords bounced off of them, and the shields shattered.

"That's…" Ichigo started.

They both looked behind Aizen to see Orihime there, her hairpins alight. "Orihime…What are you—" Ichigo started.

He was suddenly cut off as Aizen slashed Ichigo across his chest, sending him stepping away from the traitor. Hollow Ichigo raised his sword high in an attempt to kill the distracted Aizen.

"**Damn idiot, getting hit in surprise like that!**"

"Koten Zanshun, I reject!"

Tsubaki suddenly flew out of Orihime's hairpin and hit Hollow Ichigo right in his chest, sending him flying to the ground with the force. Aizen simply stood there smirking, wiping the blood off of his sword.

"**Ugh…shit…Didn't expect that to pack such a punch!**"

"Orihime, why are you helping Aizen?!" Ichigo asked, now on his feet.

"You really are brainless aren't you Kurosaki," Aizen mocked. "My Bankai's power allows me to enter my opponent's soul and steal their memories. If I can steal and manifest them, then they can easily fight for me!"

"You bastard!" Ichigo yelled as he started running towards Aizen.

He was suddenly cut off by his hollow side. "**What the fuck do you think you're doing idiot?**"

"Get out of the way!"

"**If you die, I die too!**" Hollow Ichigo countered. "**I can't have you running towards your enemy just to die. Calm down and don't let him anger you like that!**"

Aizen was suddenly behind Hollow Ichigo with his sword raised high. The hollow countered quickly by turning around and parrying the blow. They stared at each other as Hollow Ichigo smirked.

"**Seems to me like your little friend over there doesn't help much for offense.**"

Aizen smiled as he hopped back towards Orihime. "No, perhaps not. Worry not, if it's an attack force you want…" Mist suddenly appeared in front of Aizen and began to take shape. "…It's an attack force you'll get!"

The mist suddenly took the shape of six people. They revealed themselves to be six members of the Espada. Barragan, Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, Zommari, Szayel, and Aaroniero all stood with smiles on their faces.

"I believe you're acquainted with a few, but shall I introduce the rest?" Aizen asked mockingly.

"You said you use my memories, but I don't know three of those Espada!" Ichigo proclaimed.

"You didn't think I can't use my own memory do you?" asked the traitor. "Remember Kurosaki, this may be your soul, but my Bankai allows me to be the God in here. Now my fellow Espada, rip those two to shreds."

"Only two?" Nnoitra complained. "That's not enough."

"And they look so boring," Szayel added.

"They're hardly worth my time," declared Barragan.

"Go now," Aizen commanded, "and remember to share."

With that, all six Espada leapt towards their opponent. "Oh and…" Aizen added, "you two can't fight together."

He held his sword straight out, sending a large burst of energy coming from it. It sped towards Ichigo and his hollow form, and both of them jumped out of the way to avoid its sting. When they landed, they both saw they were facing three Espada each.

Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, and Aaroniero faced Ichigo, while Barragan, Zommari, and Szayel faced his hollow side.

"You'd better not try and take my kill!" Nnoitra said to his two companions. "Especially you Ulquiorra!"

"Don't worry," Ulquiorra said with closed eyes, "he is trash and I don't intend to fight him anyway."

"Hmph, whatever!" yelled the battle-hungry arrancar. "You'd better not interfere either Aaroniero!"

"_Save_ **it**," Aaroniero exclaimed through his two faces. "I want to devour him and add his spiritual energy to my own!"

With that, Nnoitra and Aaroniero leapt towards Ichigo. They faced their adversary, and Aaroniero said, "_Greetings,_ **I'm the Novena Espada, **_Aaroniero Arruruerie_."

"Ninth?" Ichigo asked. "Didn't Rukia beat you before?"

"_Rukia, _**you mean…**" started the Novena as he took off his mask, revealing his face to be Rukia's, and finishing, "…me?"

"Rukia? How did you copy her face?"

"Quite simple really," Aaroniero said through Rukia's mouth. "I ate her," he lied.

Those words cut Ichigo like a dagger, and sudden rage overtook him as he roared and rushed towards his enemy. Before he could reach him, Nnoitra came between and blocked his attack with his massive zanpakuto.

"You're… Nnoitra!" Ichigo said.

"You remember my name?" asked the 5th Espada. "Yet I don't remember yours. Would you mind telling me?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Kurosaki, eh? I'll remember it until I kill you that is!"

Ichigo used his strength to knock Nnoitra to the floor and continued towards Aaroniero. He simply smiled and pulled out Rukia's zanpakuto.

"That's…"

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

A large ice wave flew towards Ichigo as he flew straight towards it. "Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled, smashing the wave with his attack.

He continued towards Aaroniero, but he was able to dodge his attack and appear behind Ichigo. He quickly turned around and brought his sword towards Rukia's zanpakuto. Ice from Rukia's blade started to form on Ichigo's sword, and he was forced to pull his sword back and land on the ground; Aaroniero followed suit.

"How can you use Rukia's moves?!" he asked in anger.

"Hope you didn't forget about me!" Ichigo heard behind him.

He didn't have time to look who said it as he leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the attack. Nnoitra stood there smiling and threw his zanpakuto from its chain towards Ichigo. He brought his sword up to block, but was pushed back several feet, still parrying the zanpakuto.

"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!"

Ichigo quickly leapt out of the white circle that formed itself around him. "This is bad!" Ichigo said, "I have to take them one-on-one, but how?"

He didn't have time to think as Nnoitra appeared behind him again. "Gotcha!" he yelled triumphantly.

Thinking fast, Ichigo threw on his hollow mask and turned around, attacking Nnoitra. The Espada was able to parry his attack with his zanpakuto, but he felt the pressure of Ichigo's spiritual energy.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The black blast hit a surprised Nnoitra head-on, throwing him back many feet in a heap. With Nnoitra out of the way, he turned his attention to Aaroniero.

He sped quickly towards the surprised arrancar and brought his sword down on him in a flash, slashing his chest open. He grunted in pain as he took a step back. Ichigo noticed his spiritual energy began to fluctuate, and Rukia's face began to change back to his original head.

"_How _**dare**_ you!_" he roared in anger, his real face taking over.

"Just as I thought," Ichigo scoffed, "there's no way Rukia could have lost to you; once again, it was just another illusion."

Another slash of his sword changed Aaroniero back completely. "_So _**what?!**" he roared in anger. He pulled off one of his white gloves, revealing his zanpakuto. "_I _**don't **_need _**her **_attacks_ **to **_beat_** you!** _Consume _**Glotoneria!**"

Aaroniero transformed into a large octopus-looking creature, as hollows began to form on it. "_Prepare to _**face 33,650** _hollows!_" he laughed.

Before he could finish his laugh, Ichigo already leapt up to be level with him. Not wasting any time, he raised his sword up and started, "Getsuga…"

"_Wait!_"

"…Tensho!"

A massive black blast flew across and split Aaroniero in half, shattering the jar which held his two heads. His resureccion disappeared and he gave his final words before dying.

"_Damn…_**it…**"  
Ichigo didn't have five seconds to breathe before Nnoitra was back up again ready to kill. Ichigo parried his blow as the arrancar scoffed.

"With Aaroniero out of the way, I can have you all to myself!"

Ichigo gave an unearthly shriek and pushed Nnoitra back with an amazing amount of force. He cursed as he skidded back. "Don't remember this much power before!"

Before he could blink, Ichigo was right in front of him, slashing him across the chest, ripping his uniform right open. "Fuck!" he cursed, swinging his zanpakuto towards him.

Ichigo deftly ducked and slashed both of his legs.

Nnoitra swung his zanpakuto down, but Ichigo avoided and appeared behind him, slashing his back. "You weren't this strong when I fought you last!" he yelled.

"That's because I was beat up from Grimmjow's fight," Ichigo calmly answered, cutting him again. "When I'm like this, you don't stand a chance."

One final slash across Nnoitra's face sent him flying back. Blood sprayed as he braced himself and cursed over and over. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! Fine, I'll just have to fucking crush you right now! Pray, Santa Teresa!"  
All of Nnoitra's wounds sealed up as he grew six arms, each with large scythes. Nnoitra wasted no time as he rushed at Ichigo with all six scythes ready. Ichigo dodged the first two and parried the other two he swung at him.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The blast went through the scythe he was parrying, and hitting Nnoitra in the process. He growled and brought his remaining two scythes down, which Ichigo was able to dodge. The Captain leapt in the air, and Nnoitra followed in hot pursuit. Ichigo raised his sword high starting, "Getsuga…"

"That won't fucking work anymore!" Nnoitra exclaimed, swinging his scythes towards Ichigo, cutting off his attack.

Rage began to overtake Ichigo as he realized he didn't have time to be fighting Nnoitra. With his anger, his spiritual pressure rose, and it grew so thick it was stifling to Nnoitra.

"Urgh…why do you have so much strength?" he asked.

"Because I'm stronger than you!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"I AM THE STRONGEST!" yelled a maddened Nnoitra as he leapt straight for Ichigo with his five remaining scythes swinging.

Ichigo brought his blade down and started to charge his Getsuga Tensho on the tip of his blade. Without releasing it, he kept the energy there and went to attack. Nnoitra swung his first two scythes at him, but they broke under the strength of Ichigo's blade.

"Fuck!" he yelled, swinging his other two scythes towards him.

Nnoitra found the same result for those two scythes as well. Nnoitra realized he was outclassed and raised his remaining scythe up in a defense against Ichigo's attack.

"Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled, bringing his blade down with a crash against Nnoitra.

The damage was severe as Nnoitra's last scythe broke and he barreled to the ground with a gruesome wound now on his chest. "Shit…didn't think he'd be so strong…" he wheezed, barely having any strength to get on his knees.

Ichigo landed right in front of the wounded arrancar and brought his sword high. "Going to finish me off then?" asked the 5th Espada. "That's fine…hurry up and split me in two. I want to enjoy my last breath in the heat of battle…I can't think of a better way to leave the God forsaken world."

Nnoitra surprisingly started laughing as he looked up at his opponent with a smile. "Sorry," he chuckled, "I still can't remember your name…"

Ichigo finished him with a decisive blow brought down on him, ending the 5th Espada once and for all.

With Nnoitra dealt with, Ichigo turned towards the seemingly unphased Ulquiorra. "Now it's time to fight you," he declared. "I have to finish you and get to Aizen."

"Get to Aizen?" the 4th Espada repeated. "Don't make me laugh Kurosaki. Even if you beat me, you're still no match for Aizen."

"Better not go underestimating me again," Ichigo warned. "It will be your downfall."

"Don't worry, I know how strong you've gotten, and intend to attack with the same kind of power," Ulquiorra responded, pointing his blade at him. "Bind…Murcielago!"

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Ichigo defeats Nnoitra and Aaroniero, but will he be able to beat Ulqiorra again?

**P.S. Sorry for the shorter than normal chapter, but this chapter and the next one were originally one, but it was too long so I had to split it up. With luck, I should be able to update tomorrow.**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	38. Requiem for a Dream 3: Shut Me Up

Ichigo and his hollow side square off against the Espada. Enjoy!

**Sorry for taking longer than I promised to update. I first thought I would make all of this one chapter, but I realized it would be far too long and was forced to break it up. Even I was in surprise at the length of this chapter. Can you believe I wanted the last chapter, this chapter, and the next chapter all to be one? Clearly I have organizational problems. Oh well, I'll update as soon as possible. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**38: Requiem for a Dream 3: Shut Me Up**

"I want him for my research!" Szayel bragged to his other two companions. "So you just stay out of my way."

Hollow Ichigo raised an eyebrow at this comment.

"Hmph, go ahead," Barragan replied. "He doesn't look worth my time anyway."

"I agree," Zommari simply replied.

"Well that was easy," Szayel chuckled stepping towards Hollow Ichigo. "You don't seem to be like the other one," he analyzed.

"**Like that's hard to figure out,**" Hollow Ichigo chuckled. "**And you're supposed to be the smartest Espada?**"

Szayel pushed his glasses closer to his face and simply replied, "Your energy is not unlike a hollows. It should be very interesting to study you…very interesting indeed."

Hollow Ichigo was suddenly beside him with his sword ready. "**Sorry, but I don't intend to become anyone's test subject.**"

Szayel barely had time to bring his own zanpakuto up to parry the attack. The force was so great, however, that Szayel skidded a few feet, blood flowing down the side of his head.

"Being able to go through my pesquisa, he must be more like a hollow than I thought," he simply replied.

He didn't have time to go any further as Hollow Ichigo was on him again, his sword raised high. Szayel brought his sword up to parry, but cracks began to form from the force of it.

Thinking fast, Szayel brought his sword down slightly and two bits of pink energy began to form on both of his eyes. "Cero!" he yelled.

The two parts combined to make his cero blast, knocking the hollow back. "I know that's not enough to get him, so where'd he g—" Szayel started.

Hollow Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of him and slashed him across the chest. Blood sprayed out as he screamed in pain and jumped away from his enemy.

"Having trouble there Aporro?" Barragan mocked.

Rage appeared on Szayel's face now. "You low-grade specimen!" he cursed. "How dare you make me bleed! I care not for studying you anymore; it's clear you're inferior to us arrancar, so I'll end it now. Imbibe, Fornicaras!"

Szayel swelled up like a balloon as he swallowed his sword and appeared in his released form. "Aaaaah!" he said in a relaxed tone. "Now it's time to feed!"

One of his tentacles turned up behind Hollow Ichigo, intent on capturing him. The hollow was too quick, however, as he turned around and completely severed it with one blow. Szayel howled in pain as he sent two more towards him. They ended up just like the other one, severed and on the ground.

"Shit!" cursed the 8th Espada. "There's no way I'd lose to an inferior species like you!"

A large amount of black ink shot out of his back and flew towards Hollow Ichigo. He stood there calmly and simply said, "**Getsuga Tensho.**"

The blast completely shot through the black ink, making him avoid it completely. Not giving Szayel any time to react, he appeared right in front of him with his sword ready to kill. He thrust his sword straight into the arrancar's heart, causing blood to flow from his mouth.

"Not…again…" he cursed as he began to disappear.

Before he was even gone completely, Zommari was behind Hollow Ichigo and brought his sword down on him. The hollow turned around and parried the blade. "**You're pretty quick there!" **he complemented.** "But I thought you said you weren't interested**."

"The death of an ally warrants interest," Zommari replied. "That's all that needs to be said."

"**Is that so? Getsuga Tensho!**"

The blast hit Zommari, but the hollow found out he merely hit an afterimage. The real Zommari appeared behind him, but Hollow Ichigo turned around and slashed him, only to find out it was an afterimage again.

"**What the?!**" he asked.

"As the fastest Espada, I am able to confused you with afterimages. It is called Gemelos Sonido!"

Before Zommari could brag any further, Hollow Ichigo was on the real him and slashed him lightly with his sword. The 7th Espada retreated in shock. "How?"

The hollow didn't bother answering, which angered Zommari a bit. He started moving faster to make five images of himself. "Now try and attack me!" he yelled.

Surprisingly, Hollow Ichigo thrust his sword through the real Zommari's shoulder, causing blood to shoot out. Zommari quickly jumped back, letting the sword come out on its own. "How did you know which was the real me?"

"**Aizen already tried something like this," the hollow explained. "It's easy if you just focus on the one that's actually exerting spiritual pressure**."

"I see," Zommari calmly replied. "Then I shall face you with a greater strength."

He levitated in front of him and it started to form into a ball. He clapped his hands together and stated, "Suppress, Brujeria!"

White mist emanated from Zommari's zanpakuto and enveloped him. He emerged in the shape not unlike that of a pumpkin, with fifty eyes covering his body. Before Hollow Ichigo knew it, one of Zommari's pupils enlarged and hit his leg. The shape of a black sun appeared on it.

"**What?**"

"The power of my resureccion lets me take the sovereignty of anything. In layman's terms…it lets me have full control of your leg. And if I take control of your head…"

Another on of his pupils started to enlarge, but before he could take control of Hollow Ichigo's head, he brought his arm up between his head, letting it get taken control of instead.

"Quick thinking," Zommari complimented, "yet fruitless in the end. I will take control of all of your body soon enough."

Before he could set his sights on anything else, he felt Hollow Ichigo's presence behind him. "What?!" was all he could say.

"**Guess that really is just it, isn't it?**" asked the hollow. "**Sorry, but taking control of one of my legs isn't enough to slow me down that much, and I can easily use my other arm to do this!**"

He suddenly thrust his sword in Zommari's heart, causing him to spit up blood. "Damn…you…" he said before disappearing into a white fog.

Hollow Ichigo noticed the suns went away on him. "**Guess they disappear when you die, huh?**"

"Hmph, weaklings, all of them!" Barragan scoffed.

"**You're next,**" Hollow Ichigo threatened.

"You're very hollow-like," Barragan admitted, summoning his massive axe to him. "But I'm about to show you what it's like to face the king of hollows. Rot, Arrogante!"

"**Arrogante?**" Hollow Ichigo snickered. "**Well it suits your personality well**."

Barragan didn't answer as he was fully engulfed in blackness. He emerged as his old self, not but bones draped in a black robe with a beautiful golden crown.

"**Oho, that's a scary sight indeed. No doubt it scares anyone who's never seen a resureccion before.**"

"Your meaningless words mean nothing to me," Barragan replied. "But in the end, while facing me, everything means nothing."

He exhumed his aura of death, causing the building under him to crumble. "**What the?**"

Barragan laughed as he didn't bother to explain, simply replying, "Rot and die!"

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Ichigo held his ground despite the power of Ulquiorra's release form. With his now completely helmet and white clothing, he looked an intimidating sight. He summoned a white lance in his hand and stared emotionlessly at his opponent.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"No," Ichigo bluntly stated.

Before he knew it, Ulquiorra was right in front of him with his lance poised. Ichigo reacted quickly and knocked it away before he could get stabbed. "Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled.

Ulquiorra jumped back to avoid it completely and took flight in the air. Ichigo jumped to follow him and swung his sword upward. Ulquiorra parried it with his lance and was able to push him back. Before Ichigo could recover completely, Ulquiorra struck again, appearing behind Ichigo, swinging his lance to behead his enemy.

Ichigo ducked and was able to turn around and slash Ulquiorra lightly across his chest. The arrancar seemed surprised by this and leapt back.

"Seems like you've gotten better," he commented.

"Thanks," Ichigo replied.

"It still doesn't mean you can beat me," Ulquiorra replied. "I believe you remember this attack Kurosaki," he said, charging a black cero on the tips of his fingers.

"I do," Ichigo replied, lowering his sword. He began to charge a Getsuga Tensho on the tip of his sword.

"Thinking you can defeat my Cero Oscuras with a Getsuga Tensho? What a ridiculous notion," mocked the Espada. "In the end, you're still trash."

"You're pretty arrogant Ulquiorra," Ichigo shot back. "It's not like you at all."

"It doesn't matter," he said with emotionless eyes. "Let us end this now."

"Sounds good to me," the Captain smiled.

"Cero Oscuras!"

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Both blasts hit dead on in a massive black explosion, engulfing both shinigami and arrancar.

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Hollow Ichigo dodged yet another one of Barragan's Respira attack. "**Not again! Can't you do anything else?!**"

"You say it like you're winning!" laughed Barragan.

"**It's not that, I just don't like you destroying the King's soul. I live here you know!**"

"Is that so? Well then, I'll just have to expand."

Barragan's Respira grew to an even wider radius, destroying a good part of the building next to him. "**I said stop!**" the angered hollow yelled, rushing towards his enemy.

Barragan laughed as he extended his aura again, forcing Hollow Ichigo to stop and retreat. "What's wrong? Can you not handle the thought of aging?" mocked the laughing skeleton.

"**Ah fuck you!**" Hollow Ichigo replied, charging a red cero in his hand. "**Cero!**"

The blast flew towards Barragan, but aged and withered before it could reach Barragan. "It's futile," he scoffed. "You are equal before me."

"**_Hate to admit it, but he's got a formidable defense,_**" thought Hollow Ichigo, taking flight yet again. "**_But there's gotta be some way to counter his defenses. But he won't give me any time!_**"

"I'm not waiting anymore," Barragan stated. "Prepare to rot!"

"**Shit! Time to go!**"

With that, Hollow Ichigo began running away from his enemy. Barragan merely laughed at this. "You think running will get you anywhere? You are nothing but an insect, and you will die like one!"

Barragan began to follow Hollow Ichigo, laughing the entire time.

"**Gotta get to King so we can take him down together. I just hope he's finished his enemies off!**"

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The dust cleared from both massive attacks, and both opponents came through wounded. Ichigo emerged bloodied and his hollow mask destroyed while Ulquiorra appeared with his shirt completely burned, reveal his chest and the tattoo of the number "4".

"_Impossible,_" Ulquiorra thought. "_That Getsuga Tensho was stronger than my Cero Oscuras. Where does he get such strength?_"

Ichigo smiled despite his grievous injuries. "What's the matter Ulquiorra? Too much for you to handle?"

Ulquiorra cut off Ichigo's laughter by throwing his lance at his enemy. Ichigo barely had time to move his head, getting away with a slash on the cheek. "That's not like you," he continued. "Are you perhaps getting desperate?"

"Shut up trash!" Ulquiorra yelled. "It appeared I need to acquaint you again with the true meaning of despair!"

Ulquiorra transformed into his Segunda Etapa, hitting Ichigo with fresh spiritual pressure, healing his wounds as well. Ulquiorra stood there motionless, intimidating Ichigo immensely.

"Speechless again?" he asked. "I thought you'd be more prepared."

Ichigo stood motionless and remained silent. "No words?" asked the Espada. He summoned a white-light lance in his hand. "Guess I'll put an end to it now. Lanza del Relampago!"

Knowing the danger, Ichigo threw on his hollow mask and took to the air. "Useless!" Ulquiorra said, throwing the lance at his enemy.

It was then that Ichigo felt his inner-hollow's presence behind him. He turned around and saw him being chased by Barragan. Thinking fast, he leapt up higher just in time to avoid the lance, sending it straight towards his hollow.

"Heads up!" he only yelled.

Hollow Ichigo saw it, saying, "**What the fuck is that?!**"

Without an answer, he leapt out of the way, sending the weapon to his enemy behind him. The laughing Barragan was distracted, but saw the danger in time to activate his Respira, and disintegrate the weapon before it reaches him.

"Damn!" Ichigo said. "What the hell did he just use to get rid of it?"

"Barragan, such a bother," Ulquiorra said with a sigh.

Hollow Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of Ichigo. Before Ichigo could speak, the hollow brought his sword crashing down on Ichigo's head, shattering his mask.

"What…?"

"**Don't ever have that mask on in my presence,**" he warned. "**Don't make me tell you that again.**"

Ichigo didn't respond, simply gulped with intimidation.

Ulquiorra sped to Barragan, surprising him. "Why are you here?" asked the 4th with indifference.

"How dare you speak to your King and superior like that!" yelled the 2nd. Realization suddenly hit him and he asked, "What the hell kind of form is this?"

"Something you don't need to be concerned with," responded the emotionless Espada. "Let's just focus on getting rid of them shall we?"

But Barragan wouldn't let the subject go. "Seems like whatever form this is, it grants you greater strength. Not that it matters. I suggest you remember, everything is equal before me."

Ulquiorra turned around to stare at his enemies and responded, "I suggest you remember that not even Aizen has seen me like this; anyone that has seen this form has died a horrible death. But let's focus on that later and just destroy the enemies."

Barragan simply gulped at this comment, knowing he was dead serious.

"The power to age everything?!" Ichigo asked with confusion.

Hollow Ichigo simply nodded.

"**It's a powerful ability no doubt. It acts as an offensive and defensive power, making him nearly indestructible.**"

"Then what should we do?"

"**I think I have a plan,**" the hollow smirked. "**Just listen to me.**"

Both Barragan and Ulquiorra were staring at their enemies. "Gah, this is taking too long!" the Segunda complained. "I'm going to attack them now!"

Ulquiorra simply kept his eyes closed and replied, "They're coming."

Both Ichigo and Hollow Ichigo charged in at the same time, the intent to kill in their eyes. Surprisingly, Hollow Ichigo went for Ulquiorra, and Ichigo went for Barragan.

"What's this?" asked the Cuatro. "A pitiful attempt at confusion?"

"**Something like that!**" replied his enemy, bringing his sword down on him.

"Pathetic," Ulquiorra simply replied, knocking his sword away.

"I don't care who I fight, you will all rot!" Barragan laughed.

Before he could finish his laughter, Ichigo appeared behind him. "Getsuga Tensho!"

Barragan laughed again and let out a Respira, stopping the attack. "Didn't you figure out already that's it's usele—"

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Ichigo was suddenly in front of Barragan and let out another attack. Before Barragan could even respond, Ichigo appeared above his him and let out another attack. "Getsuga Tensho!"

"You worm! It all will rot!"

Ichigo kept this strategy up, appearing on all sides of Barragan, releasing Getsuga Tensho's. Barragan extended his Respira all around him, eliminating any chance of any attack reaching him. Ichigo took this chance to hide, confusing Barragan utterly.

"Where did you go you insect! Come out!"

Ichigo only responded by sending out a Getsuga Tensho from a hidden place, keeping Barragan on guard. Several minutes of this passed, and Barragan was starting to feel the effects of keeping his Respira around him for an extended amount of time. Ichigo saw the aura start to retreat into him, making him smile.

Hollow Ichigo kept on attacking Ulquiorra with relentless strikes. Despite their ferocity, Ulquiorra asked, "You seem preoccupied. What's keeping you?"

"**Nothing!**" laughed the hollow. "**I'm just wondering if you'll start to get serious and use that lance again!**"

"Curious, eh?"

"**Not that,**" he said, suddenly increasing his spiritual pressure and quickly cutting Ulquiorra's arm, "**I just think you need it,**" he finished.

Ulquiorra growled at this and complied with the hollow's request. "Fine," he said, summoning it again.

He quickly swung it at Hollow Ichigo, but he ducked in time and leapt out of the way. "**It can be a melee weapon too? I didn't know that,**" he lied.

Ulquiorra simply leapt back and aimed it at his enemy, and threw it at enormous force. "**Bingo!**"

The hollow leapt away just at the right time, sending the lance flying right past him.

Barragan was clearly angered, looking around for his hidden enemy with his Respira no longer extended. "_I'll only use it when he sends out an attack_," he resolved. "_Otherwise, it'll drain my spiritual energy too quickly._"

Unfortunately, he was too preoccupied with his thoughts and trying to find Ichigo that he did not notice Ulquiorra's attack flying towards him. "Barragan!" Ulquiorra yelled too late.

Barragan turned around to see Ulquiorra's weapon right in front of him. The explosion was massive, taking Barragan and stifling his screams of pain.

Ichigo smiled as he knew their plan worked. He leapt out of his hiding place, only to leap away when the dust settled. Barragan's Respira was going back out towards him.

"You insects!" they heard him yell behind the smoke.

"Can't be…" Ichigo said.

"Guess you underestimated Barragan's toughness," Ulquiorra stated.

"Do you know who I am…?" He suddenly emerged from the smoke with a massive crack running down his skull, nearly splitting his head in two. A huge chunk of his right side was missing where the lance hit. "I AM THE GOD OF ALL!"

Barragan sent Respira flying everywhere, going for everyone, including Ulquiorra. "ALL IS EQUAL BEFORE ME!" he yelled in a maddened state.

Ulquiorra sighed and knocked Hollow Ichigo out of the way, charging a cero on his fingers. Without warning, he aimed it at Barragan and said, "Cero Oscuras."

Barragan didn't expect that and took the blow full force, adding more to his damage. He blindly focused all of his Respira in the direction it came from, yelling, "HOW DARE YOU STAND UP TO YOUR GOD ULQUIORRA?!"

Much to his horror, he could feel Ulquiorra's presence right behind him where he was unprotected. In his hand was a white-light lance.

"Lanza del Relampago."

The blast hit Barragan dead on, finishing him off completely, and putting an end to his Respira.

"**Well that was unexpected,**" Hollow Ichigo stated, standing up.

"Why would you do that?" asked Ichigo.

"It was clear he was unstable," explained the 4th. "I needed to put an end to him for Aizen-sama's sake. Now it's just us, so let's finish this once and for all."

"**Sounds good to me! Let's go King, we'll smash him in!**"

"It's time for a real rematch Ulquiorra," Ichigo stated.

Ulquiorra summoned another lance and replied, "Then by all means, let's go."

With that, all three of them charged at once. Ulquiorra felt Hollow Ichigo behind him and saw Ichigo appear in front of him. Thinking fast, he leapt into the air, but he was quickly pursued. Hollow Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of him and swung his sword. Ulquiorra parried the blow with his lance and was able to push the hollow back.

Ichigo took this opportunity to sneak up behind Ulquiorra, but he responded by swiping him with his tail. Ichigo leapt back yelling, "Getsuga Tensho!"

The blast hit Ulquiorra head on, giving him minor injuries. Hollow Ichigo, however, exploited this by slashing Ulquiorra across his chest while he was damaged. The Espada swung his lance in defiance, but Hollow Ichigo jumped away and yelled, "**Getsuga Tensho!**"

Ulquiorra dodged this time and appeared behind Hollow Ichigo with his lance ready to stab. Before he could hit, however, Ichigo intervened by slashing Ulquiorra's cheek, stopping his attack. Ulquiorra growled and leapt a good distance away.

Not wasting any time, he hurled his lance at his two enemies, causing a massive explosion. Ulquiorra knew he missed when he sensed Ichigo behind him. He quickly turned around, but was slashed in the back by Hollow Ichigo.

Ulquiorra roared in anger and turned around, only to hit air. "How can you sneak up on me?! I should be able to sense you!"

"**Guess you didn't know, I'm the reason you lost the first fight,**" bragged the hollow. "**Fighting us together, you don't stand a chance!**"

He charged towards a maddened Ulquiorra after that and attempted to slash him. Ulquiorra completely forgot about Ichigo for a second, and because of that, he got stabbed through his shoulder.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The explosion caused Ulquiorra a lot of damage, he retreated back and addressed Ichigo. "I thought you wanted a rematch! Why would you double-team with him when it should just be you and me?!"

"While it's true I want a rematch," Ichigo replied, "I'm afraid I don't have time to fight you right now. I have to get to Aizen and finally end all this."

"Ridiculous! You cannot defeat Aizen-sama! You will surely die!"

Hollow Ichigo appeared behind Ulquiorra and smirked, "**Didn't you hear the King? He doesn't want to play with you anymore. Disappear!**"  
The hollow slashed Ulquiorra's arm off, causing him to scream in pain. He silenced it by saying, "**Getsuga Tensho!**"

Ulquiorra retreated yet again as his arm started to reform, but slower than it normally would. "Guess that means you're running low on spiritual energy," Ichigo stated. He raised his sword and finished, "Sorry Ulquiorra, but we have to end this now."

Ulquiorra only stood there and asked, "What drives you to go to such lengths?"

Ichigo stood still and replied, "My heart."

Ulquiorra understood those words completely and seemed to lose all will to fight. Regardless, he gave a half-hearted attempt to stop Hollow Ichigo who suddenly appeared in front of him, but only ended up getting his chest slashed yet again. He spat out blood and hopped back a few paces, only to see Ichigo above him.

Ulquiorra saw what looked to be sorrow in his enemy's eyes as he said, "Sorry Ulquiorra, maybe we can fight some other time. Getsuga Tensho!"

The 4th didn't even try to move as he let Ichigo hit him dead on, giving him a grievous slash to the chest, sending him to the floor in pain.

"_The heart…_" he thought as he felt the life flow out of him. "_Hollows don't have them…is that why I was defeated? No, if that was the case, I would have been stronger than Kurosaki's inner-hollow. So what drives him so? Perhaps it's not just the heart. Perhaps it's like before, causing him to fight so bravely against me the last time..._"

Ulquiorra felt his eyes mist over as he thought his last thought. "_…Friends…_"

Ichigo was forced to look away as he saw Ulquiorra begin to disappear. Hollow Ichigo slapped him in the face lightly a few times. "**Don't go and get all emotional now. We still have to defeat Aizen. Don't forget that.**"

"Yeah…" Ichigo weak-heartedly responded. "Let's go…"

With that, Ichigo left Ulquiorra, hoping for the promise of a rematch, but knowing deep down in his heart that he would never get one.

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With the Espada defeat, Ichigo once again sets his sights on Aizen.

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	39. Requiem for a Dream 4: The Memory's Pain

Aizen takes Ichigo to some familiar places and introduces him to some familiar people. Enjoy!

**I've been quite busy recently with school, so it severely hinders my writing time. The story is almost finished, though, with only a few more chapters left. Be sure to keep reading to find out how it ends.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**Requiem for a Dream 4: The Memory's Pain**

"Welcome back," Aizen smiled to the two returning visitors. "Did you have a fun trip?"

Neither Ichigo nor his hollow side spoke; they simply stared with a mix of anger and fatigue.

"Now what's with that look?" mocked Aizen. "I thought you would have relished the chance to have a rematch with Ulquiorra. I guess it was too much to expect that. Oh well, what say we finally finish this farce?"

Finally gracing him with a word, Ichigo replied, "Sure."

With that, both Ichigo and his hollow side struck, slicing Aizen with two death blows. Blood shot out of his mouth, but he smiled and said, "Pathetic."

That Aizen then turned into mist, but Ichigo looked up and saw Aizen standing above them with his sword raised high. He smiled and flew down towards a defenseless Ichigo. Before he could strike, however, Hollow Ichigo intercepted him and parried his blow. Not giving Aizen a second, the hollow smiled and attacked.

"**Getsuga Tensho!**"

The real Aizen got hit and was forced to jump back. Before he could recover fully, Ichigo appeared behind him and slashed his back lightly. Aizen grunted and turned around, swinging his blade. Ichigo was able to parry and yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Aizen reacted quickly and was able to leap away, avoiding the blast completely. He landed on the ground, but quickly jumped away as Hollow Ichigo leapt towards him with his sword gleaming. Aizen cursed as he landed even farther away from both of his enemies.

Ichigo jumped next to his hollow form and asked, "What's the matter Aizen? You seem to be getting tired."

"Tired?" Aizen laughed. "Hardly, I was just thinking about changing the scenery up a bit."

"Scenery?"

Aizen didn't bother explaining as the entire surrounding changed. The building they were standing on disappeared; they floated in the air as walls grew below them and houses sprouting up on both sides of the walls. Ichigo recognized the place immediately.

"This is…"

"Yes," the Traitor interrupted. "This is indeed Karakura Town. "I thought you might need a little nostalgia. After all, it's been ten years since you've been here right? Allow me to catch you up to the lives of your friends and family."

Not wasting anymore time, all three of them were transported in front of Karakura Hospital. Panic was ensuing outside of it was paramedics wheeled someone into their front doors.

"What happened here?!" they heard someone yell.

"Two guys got injured somehow!" someone answered. "They're in critical condition; we gotta hurry!"  
Suddenly, a man wearing square glasses with silver hair parted down the middle walked out of the doors and inspected the injured men. Shock appeared on his face as he saw who they were.

"Director?" someone asked.

The man wearing the glasses turned to the speaker and ordered, "Well let's hurry up and get these people healed! Get them inside now!"

The paramedics nodded as they wheeled both people inside. "Why are you showing me this?" Ichigo asked Aizen.

Aizen smirked at this and replied, "I guess you don't know who the injured are. Allow me to show you."

They were suddenly inside the emergency room where the two men were being treated. The doctors were moving frantically, yelling at each other in an attempt to save their lives.

"Go on," Aizen stated, "go see who they're treating."

Ichigo took his advice and walked forward, gazing at the dying men. His face appeared with shock as he saw who they were. He looked down and started to sweat from the shock. After a few seconds, he mouthed two names.

"Ishida…Chad…"

"That's right," Aizen chuckled. "Those are your friends dying there."

Hollow Ichigo had heard enough as he rushed at Aizen. The Traitor was able to parry the blow and push the hollow back.

"**Don't listen to him King!**" the Hollow advised. "**This is just another illusion!**"

"You're annoying; go away," Aizen said.

In the blink of an eye, Aizen appeared in front of Hollow Ichigo and stabbed him in the shoulder. The surprised hollow spat out blood as Aizen sent a burst of energy through his sword, sending his enemy flying several feet away with a crash. "This is between me and him."

Aizen wiped the sword off his blood and walked closer to Ichigo. "It may be an illusion right now, but I assure you this is based on fact."

"How did it happen?"

"Now that's another tale, one you'll find out soon enough."

With that, the sound of the machines went to a solid beep, and Ichigo looked over to see a flat line on the machines.

"Well would you look at that," replied a happy Aizen. "Looks like they died."

"WHO DID THIS TO THEM?!" Ichigo demanded, charging at Aizen with his sword raised.

"What if I told you it was me?" smirked the traitor.

"I'd say you're lying!" Ichigo replied in anger.

"Not me directly of course," he explained, "but it was by my orders that they died."

"STOP LYING!" Ichigo roared, leaping away and preparing another strike.

When he struck again, he hit mist, and the real Aizen appeared behind him. "I guess I'll have to show you myself," he stated. "Let's see, I'll just have to take you back in time an hour or so to show you how it happened."

The scenery changed yet again to the outskirts of Karakura Town. "You see, the reason Uryu and Chad never left Karakura Town, even after all these years," Aizen explained, "is because they knew of the massive amount of spiritual energy that radiated around this place. So they stuck around to protect it, and always protected it from hollows until today."

Ichigo looked and saw Uryu and Chad breathing heavily on the ground, an enemy facing them with his sword shouldered. The light shone on his face, and Ichigo immediately recognized who it was.

"Vannan!"

"Oh, you know of him?" Aizen chuckled. "Yes, that is Vannan Skype, one of my arrancar comrades. You see Kurosaki, I sent him on very important business here to try and find out more about the materials needed to make the King's Key, and to see if he could find any trace of the Juureichi that once occupied this town. But unfortunately, he ran into some trouble in the form of your two friends. Unfortunately, Vannan is quite an unstable fellow and let his crazy side take over for a bit, allowing him to attack with brutal efficiency."

Vannan unshouldered his blade and set it alight. "You know, I gave you a chance to go away," he said to his two enemies, "but you had to push it and let me come out to fight you. Oh well," he laughed, "I guess I just have to kill you now!"

He rushed towards the two protectors and slashed Uryu across his chest. He spat out blood as Chad yelled out and ran towards him.

"Uryu!"

Vannan quickly turned around and brought his sword down on Chad. He brought up his right arm in an attempt to shield the attack, but it was sliced in two by Vannan's immense power. Not wasting a move, Vannan brought his sword upward with amazing power, slashing Chad's chest.

Before Chad fell completely, Vannan charged a cero and shot it at him, causing a large explosion. "That looks like it stung," Vannan chuckled.

He suddenly heard people coming towards him. He looked and saw a large gathering running towards all three of them.

"You see that explosions? What happened?"

Vannan sighed as he sheathed his blade. "Whoops, look like I caused too much attention. Guess I gotta go." He summoned a garganta and quickly stepped into it, leaving both of Ichigo's friends in critical condition.

Ichigo was stunned at this as he heard the people yell, "Someone call an ambulance, quick!"

"And you see, Kurosaki, that's how it happened," Aizen said. "This was around two weeks ago, just when we were getting ready with our plans. I'm surprised you didn't know yourself."

Ichigo didn't respond; he simply lunged at his enemy with his sword ready. Aizen was able to parry the blade. "What was the point of showing me that?" asked the Captain, "just to get me angrier than I already am with you?"

"You would think like that," mocked his enemy. "I showed this to you to get you angry, and when you're angry…"  
He suddenly melted away right in front of Ichigo. Before the Captain could turn around, he felt a sword pierce his shoulder. Blood shot out as he screamed in pain. "…You get careless," Aizen finished.

Ichigo fell to his knees in pain as Aizen drew his sword back and raised it up again, ready to kill. To his surprise, Ichigo was able to parry the blow, despite being weakened. "Impressive, but it is still for nothing!"  
Aizen raised his sword up again and prepared to end Ichigo's life forever. He was stopped, however, when a flash flew past him, and suddenly, a wound appeared horizontally on Aizen's chest. He looked to see who caused the wound and saw it was Hollow Ichigo, a grin present on his face.

"**I look away for one second and you're about to get yourself killed,**" he smirked. "**I guess I can't leave you alone anymore.**"

"You!" Aizen said with anger in his voice. "Why won't you just leave us alone?!"

"**Can't do that; if I did, he'd die, a long with me.**"  
Ichigo was now on his feet with a burning hatred in his eyes. "Let's finish this," he said to Aizen. "You ready?" he asked his inner-hollow.

"**Of course I am idiot,**" he responded. "**But you need to calm down. I need you to be the logic, and I'll be the instinct!**"

With that, they both rushed at their adversary. Aizen appeared hard-pressed as two ferocious enemies came on him. Even his illusions weren't doing much, as Hollow Ichigo was easily able to find where the real one is.

"_They're working more as a team,_" Aizen thought as he parried their blows. "_The Hollow is acting on instinct, easily seeing through my illusions, and Kurosaki is acting logical, seeing through my normal attacks. If this continues, I might…_"

Before Aizen could finish, Ichigo charged straight forward, causing Aizen to parry. Sensing an opportunity, Aizen held out his free hand and stated, "Hado 54: Hai—"

Before Aizen finished, pain shot through his entire body as Hollow Ichigo attacked with amazing efficiency, slashing Aizen's outstretched arm clean off. Blood sprayed as Aizen screamed in pain and leapt away, attempting to stop the wound.

"**Nice teamwork King,**" the Hollow sneered. "**A few more good hits and we ought to be able to finish him for good.**"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, "so let's—"

"Soten Kisshun, I reject," they heard someone say.

They turned to see Orihime standing next to Aizen, returning his arm to its original form. Seeing Aizen's arm being remade sent Ichigo over the edge as he rushed recklessly at his adversary.

"Satten Kesshun, I reject!"  
A golden shield appeared in front of Ichigo, but he quickly shattered it and continued to Aizen. It slowed him down enough, however, that Aizen was able to easily parry the blow.

"You bastard! Why did you bring her back here?!" Ichigo yelled.

Surprisingly, Aizen had anger in his voice as he pushed Ichigo back and yelled, "Don't you dare question me! I am the God here and I can do whatever I want!"

With that, the scenery began to change again. The buildings disappeared and the grass transformed into white sand. Ichigo looked around and saw a sparse number of dying trees. Above them, the sun shone high in the sky, while all around him, white walls surrounded them.

"Hueco Mundo?" asked Ichigo.

"Exactly," Aizen smiled. "We're fighting on my territory now; and combined with Orihime, I'm invincible." He put his hand over the top of his head and finished, "Oh and, let's not forget this!"  
He threw on his hollow mask and gave a terrifying roar. Letting out a massive amount of spiritual energy, he rushed towards Ichigo. Before he hit him, however, Hollow Ichigo ran between them and parried Aizen's blows. Much to Aizen's surprise, the Hollow's power was rising.

"**It seems I'm getting stronger,**" he smiled. "**I guess it's cause you sent us to this place. I don't know how to explain it, but it feels like I've just come home.**"

Letting loose a massive amount of energy, Hollow Ichigo swung his sword upward, slicing Aizen's chest vertically and slicing open his shoulder. Aizen let out an unearthly shriek and charged a black cero in his free hand.

Hollow Ichigo was able to jump out of the way in time, letting Aizen get hit with recoil when his cero hit the ground below him. Quickly leaping back, Aizen felt his blood run cold as he felt Hollow Ichigo behind him.

He swiftly turned around and parried the blow, but Hollow Ichigo just smirked and threw all of his force into his sword, knocking Aizen to the ground. Before he even landed, the Hollow yelled, "**Getsuga Tensho!**"  
Aizen was hit dead on as the top right corner of his mask cracked. He quickly shot another cero that hit Hollow Ichigo, blinding him temporarily. Aizen used this opportunity to run towards Orihime to get healed again.

"DON'T DO IT ORIHIME!" Ichigo pleaded.

"Sotten Kisshun, I reject," Orihime said, despite Ichigo's pleas.

Aizen began to laugh as Orihime healed him. "Don't waste your breath Kurosaki! I have complete control of all of your memories! You won't be able to convince her to stop!"  
It was then Aizen noticed something about his healing process; it was going incredibly slow. His wounds were barely healing at all. He looked at Orihime and snarled, "You!"  
Before Aizen could do anything else, Hollow Ichigo leapt at him with his sword, knocking him back several feet. "**Don't get distracted King!**" he yelled. "**Aizen's running low and spiritual pressure and isn't able to summon any more illusions. Hurry up and get rid of this girl to make sure he doesn't get to her again!**"

"You bastard!" Aizen cursed standing up, his mask cracking a little more.

Hollow Ichigo grinned as he poised his sword to attack. "**Let me take care of him,**" he finished before charging at the wounded Aizen.

Ichigo took his inner-hollow's advice and rushed towards Orihime. She simply stood there and stared at Aizen, awaiting orders. He grabbed her shoulders, turned her towards him, and started shaking her.

"Snap out of it!" he said to her. "Don't heal Aizen anymore. Pretty soon this nightmare will be over. Are you listening Orihime?!"

To his surprise, he saw Orihime was crying. Tears were willfully flowing down her cheeks. "Kurosaki-kun, I don't know what to do," she said to him. "I'm your memories, yet he somehow controls me. What should I do?"

Ichigo surprisingly smiled at this and softened his voice. "Don't worry; you don't have to listen to him anymore. You may be my memory, but you have your own free will."

"**WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!**" he heard his hollow yell while knocking Aizen's sword away. "**HURRY UP AND KILL HER AND COME HELP ME! I CAN'T HANDLE HIM ALONE FOREVER!**"  
He was forced to stop as a ferocious Aizen let out a roar of anger and rushed towards him, no longer caring about illusions, simply wanting to destroy the enemy in front of him.

Ichigo realized the gravity of the situation and turned back to Orihime. "Don't worry anymore. You can go now; he won't call on you again, I promise."

Orihime smiled at this as the tears stopped. She nodded her head and said, "Thank you Kurosaki-kun."

With that, she began to fade away. Before she disappeared completely, she assured Ichigo, "Don't worry; Ishida and Chad are really okay. What Aizen told you was simply a lie to unnerve you."

Ichigo smiled back and nodded his head. "Thank you Orihime."

Orihime gave one last smiled before she disappeared into smoke forever.

"NO!" Aizen yelled, witnessing this. "HOW DARE YOU!"  
He suddenly disregarded Hollow Ichigo and went towards the real Ichigo. To his surprise, however, Ichigo stared at him with resolve in his eyes. He picked his sword up and rushed at Aizen headlong. Their blades met at the middle; as Ichigo was able to push him back right towards Hollow Ichigo.

Aizen didn't have time to respond as he was slashed right across his back by Hollow Ichigo. Aizen quickly disappeared behind both of his enemies, several feet away; his mask continued to crack.

"So much for your invincible Bankai," Ichigo taunted. "Looks like you can't bring anymore illusions or memories back; you spent too much energy, let it drag on for too long."

"I DON'T NEED THEM TO DEFEAT YOU!" Aizen roared before charging again.

Both Ichigo and his hollow parried his blade with theirs, forming an X. Aizen opened his mouth and began to charge a cero. "NOW DIE!" he yelled.

Before he could finish it, however, both of his enemies began saying something.

"**Getsuga…**" Hollow Ichigo started.

"Wai—" Aizen said, knowing what was going to happen.

"TENSHO!" Ichigo finished, cutting him off with their combined black blast.

The sheer force started to rip the fabric of Hueco Mundo. The building started to crumble and the memory began to fade away. Before they knew it, they were back on top of the building of Ichigo's soul.

They looked to see Aizen barely standing. His mask was completely shattered and blood flowed freely from every wound in his body. Across his chest was a massive bloody X from where their attacks hit.

"How…dare you do this…to me…" he cursed as he began to disappear. "This…isn't over yet…I'll see you on the outside…" With that, he disappeared for good.

"**Good job King, we beat him,**" Hollow Ichigo congratulated.

"But I've still gotta fight him," Ichigo said solemnly.

"**Don't worry,**" the Hollow assured him. "**I'll still be helping you. Once this is over though, I'll be back trying to take control again.**"

"Yeah…" Ichigo said as he looked at the floor.

"**Until next time then…King.**"

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Ichigo was suddenly shot back to his body. He looked around and saw the white mist begin to disappear all around him. Across from him was Aizen, breathing heavily. Before Ichigo could make a smart comment, he felt immense pain and dropped to his knees.

"Sure takes a lot out of you, huh?" Aizen sneered. "The physical wounds you got in there may not appear, but it begins to take a toll on your mind."

"I could say the same to you," Ichigo replied. "Looks like that Bankai took a lot out of your spiritual power. I bet you can't even make illusions anymore."

"Maybe not," the traitor replied. "It seems like neither of us has much strength to go on anymore; so let's just finish this now."

Ichigo smiled and got back on his feet. "Sounds good to me."

With that, both of them threw on their hollow masks and rushed at each other.

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Both enemies finally reach their wits end. Who will emerge victorious in this fight?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	40. The Howling Symphony and the Boys Sonata

Ichigo and Aizen go in an all-out brawl against each other. Enjoy!

**I could go off explaining why it took two weeks to update, but quite frankly, its a long and uninteresting story that I don't want to bore you with. So just know that I'm sorry.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

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**40: The Howling Symphony and the Boy's Sonata**

_I was alone._

Coyote Stark dodged yet another strike from Fura and attempted to counter it with a quick sword slash, grimacing when he saw it didn't do much to its thick hierro.

_The loneliness was unbearable._

Yet another shinigami fell to one of the many gillians Fura summoned. Sweat visibly appeared on Stark as he struck the offending gillian in the head, killing it instantly.

_I was jealous of the weak ones. The weak ones got to congregate together, but whenever I tried, they simply died._

Dodging yet another strike, Stark fired a quick cero, demolishing a gillian's head.

_In an attempt to get away from the loneliness, I split my soul into two, making me and Lilynette, but even that didn't help much._

Breathing heavily, Stark leapt up but was struck lightly across the chest from Fura's claws.

_"Wow, did you kill all of them? Those mountains of hollows?"_

_"No," Stark said, not even looking back at who said that. "They just died. That's all."_

_"I see," the person said stepping closer, causing Stark to look back. "You seem strong. What do you say? I'm looking for allies."_

_Stark saw the tall man with swept back hair and eyes glinting with ambition, his white cloak flowing in the wind._

_"What a coincidence," he replied, "we are too. Are these allies of yours strong?"_

_"Why don't you come and see," the man coolly replied, taking another step forward._

_Stark stared deeply at the approaching man and exerted the most spiritual pressure he could. After seeing nothing happen to the man, he finally replied._

_"All right. You look like you can stay with us without dying."_

Blood shot out of Stark's wound as he leapt back and charged in a second after, letting out a roar.

_His allies were strong. I was given the top position among the Espada, the Primera as it were. Glad to have allies, but hating to lead, I lived a life of solitude, spending most of my time sleeping._

A gillian came between Stark and Fura, but with no mercy in the arrancar's eyes, he cut him down quickly.

_I hated myself for it. No longer being alone, but staying in solitude. I guess it was because I wasn't used to it and didn't know how to deal with allies. I hated myself for not protecting them, even as they fell one by one when the intruders invaded Hueco Mundo. Yet I still did nothing. I promised myself if I found allies I would protect them, but I couldn't even do that. _

Fura charged a cero in his eye, shooting it straight at Stark. The arrancar responded with a quick cero of his own, destroying both in the middle and forcing him back.

_I want to be weak. If that's impossible, at least give me someone as strong as I am._

Stark suddenly stopped, confusing the people next to him.

"What are you doing Stark?" Kyoraku asked, blood flowing down his face from a newly acquired wound. "This is no time to be stopping."

Stark looked around at all the shinigami getting cut down by gillian and Fura and said, "Not again."

"Huh?" asked Ukitake.

"I won't allow my allies to fall anymore," Stark replied. "Not this time." Sheathing his sword, he yelled, "Lilynette! Get over here!"

Quick to hear the call, Lilynette bounded over complaining, "There's no need to yell. What do you want?"

Stark only replied by putting his hand on her head. Knowing what he meant to do, she asked, "Stop you idiot, you can't—"

But it was too late as he already absorbed her.

"Wait, you can't be…" Ukitake started.

"Stop, you're far too wounded to be performing Resurreccion!" Kyoraku protested. "Stark!"

"Kick, Los Lobos," Stark said, despite their pleas.

He suddenly transformed to his true gunslinger self, but didn't seem at his best. His wounds didn't even heal when he transformed. He let out a cough as some blood came out.

"I won't let my allies fall while I do nothing again," Stark said to no one in particular.

With that, he dropped his two ornate pistols and let them fall to the ground. Not wasting a second, the bandoliers started emitting energy and before everyone knew it, he had summoned a pack of wolves. Staring at Fura, his wolves started to howl.

"Kyoraku, Ukitake, keep everyone back," requested Stark. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

After a second, both captains nodded.

"Let's go, Lilynette," Stark commanded, sending the wolves out at his command.

The battling shinigami quickly saw the danger in the wolf pack charging and moved away, without the aid of Ukitake and Kyoraku's words.

The wolves snarled as each one leapt and latched on to a gillian, sending them exploding in flames.

"Whoa!" Kyoraku said shielding his eyes. "He really means business!"

"But if he pushes it too much, he'll die," Ukitake added.

With all the gillian cleared away, Stark sent the remaining wolves towards Fura. The giant hollow knew the danger and shot a quick cero at them, but the wolves quickly reassembled, much to his dismay.

He attempted to move, but one quickly latched one to his arm, and exploded without mercy. Fura roared in pain as he attempted to move back, but was latched onto by two more wolves.

After the explosions, Fura knew the danger he was in and created a garganta and retreated, shutting it quickly.

"Shit, if he retreats now, we'll never get him!" said Kyoraku starting to move.

"Stop," Stark said, holding out his arm. "Don't worry, I'll go get him."

With that, he waved his other arm and created a garganta. His bandolier's then shot out more spiritual energy in the form of a sword and said in a dark tone, "Just wait for me here."

He then disappeared into the garganta, his wolves following, shutting it so no one else can follow him.

Several seconds passed, but it seemed like hours for the waiting shinigami. Eager for Stark to walk back through in victory.

Finally, a garganta opened, and through the shadows Stark stepped through. No more wolves followed and no sword was present. Just Stark, bloodied, sweating, and deathly tired. He gave a shaky smile to the shinigami before collapsing to the ground below.

Everyone followed him and surrounded the arrancar yelling several things at once. Most could tell he won, but asked many more questions that he wasn't able to make out. Smiling again, Stark closed his eyes.

_I'm not alone._

"Shit, he's losing consciousness!" he heard someone yell. "We gotta get him to the Medical Center right away!"

_I want to be weak. If that's impossible, at least give me someone as strong as I am. I have strong allies now. Allies I'm willing to fight for, allies I'm willing to die for. Not just allies…_

"Hold on Stark!" he heard Kyoraku yell. "They're gonna take you to Captain Unohana right now!"

Stark smiled through the blood and was able to finish one last thought before losing consciousness completely.

_Not just allies…but friends as well…_

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No sooner had Ichigo and Aizen's blades touched before they left again. They didn't retreat far, however, as they quickly went towards each other again, in a dance of death.

Neither enemy cared for strategy anymore; their sole purpose was the eradication of the enemy before them. Staring at each other through their hollow masks, both of them hacked, stabbed, ripped, slashed, lunged, and parried. Aizen let out a bellowing roar and slashed Ichigo across his legs. Ichigo grunted and returned the favor with a slash to the stomach.

Aizen heaved in pain but stood his ground, bringing his sword up to parry Ichigo's strike. All around them, the mist was beginning to lessen, but wasn't gone completely.

"When will you learn that it is futile?!" Aizen roared through his mask, stabbing Ichigo lightly in the shoulder. "You will not win this battle!"

Ichigo ducked from Aizen's latest strike and slashed the tip of his cheek, sending a fraction of his mask flying into the air. "I don't care what you think!" Ichigo yelled back. "You think I cared when Grimmjow, Nnoitra, or Ulquiorra told me that? It may have been true, but I was able to beat them anyway. Just because you say it doesn't make it true Aizen!"

"Wrong!" Aizen replied, slicing Ichigo across his chest. "You've never fought someone like me before. You must master speed, swordsmanship, kido, and have complete control over your zanpakuto to best me. You have skill in none! So how can you possibly beat me?!"

"I may not have skill in those," Ichigo stated, jumping back to avoid the tip of Aizen's sword. "But I have something you'll never have Aizen. I have friends and comrades that need protecting, and I will protect them!"

With that, he was able to stab Aizen right under his right ribs. Blood spurted out as Ichigo pulled his sword back as Aizen grunted in pain before retreating a few steps.

"It's over Aizen," Ichigo said as he raised his sword up with a killing blow. "You only had greedy desires to be a god, and that's why you lost."

"DON'T GET COCKY WITH ME BOY!" Aizen yelled back, leaping forward and slashing Ichigo's chest.

Ichigo retreated back, but Aizen wouldn't let up as he continued with his sword strikes. "You see! You see!" he laughed as he continued to push Ichigo back. "What you lack is ambition! That is why you will lose this battle Kurosaki! You will lose to me!"

"_What's causing such an increase in his stamina and spiritual pressure?_" Ichigo thought as he parried his strikes.

"**_It's the mist King,_**" he heard his hollow say.

"_Mist?!_"

"**_He's absorbing the rest of the mist around of him to boost his spiritual pressure, since it's just his spiritual pressure anyway. If this keeps up, we won't last._**"

"_I refuse to lose!_" Ichigo yelled in his mind. "_I will beat him!_"

He was able to parry one of Aizen's blows and actually push him back. He leapt in the air and slammed his sword towards Aizen. Unfortunately, his enemy was quick and brought his sword up to parry. Aizen held up his free hand and charged a cero.

"Die!" he yelled as he shot it.

The blast hit, but to Aizen's surprise, he was slashed across his back. Blood spurted out as he stepped forward to brace himself. Not a second later, he swung himself around and clashed swords with Ichigo.

"**_Stop pushing it King, or I'll—_**"

"_Shut up, it's almost over!_" Ichigo screamed back, silencing the voice.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo yelled, enveloping Aizen in a thick blast.

Aizen shot out of the blast and leapt towards Ichigo, slamming his sword down at him. Ichigo quickly leapt back, sending the sword straight into the ground. Aizen didn't waste anytime as he leapt onto the hilt and used it to shoot himself at Ichigo, grabbing his sword before leaving.

Ichigo brought his sword up, but got stabbed right in his left arm, causing him to scream in pain. Aizen pulled the sword out and slashed Ichigo across his chest in a spinning move and slashed upwards, slicing his shoulder open with a third slash.

Ichigo began to fall backwards, but some sudden force stopped him, as he stepped forward again, letting lose a massive battle cry.

"_No matter how many times I cut him, he keeps going. What drives him?!_" Aizen asked himself as he brought his sword up to defend himself.

Ichigo brought his sword thundering towards Aizen in a stabbing motion towards the unprepared Aizen. Before he could make contact, though, his mask shattered, destroying his momentum.

A surprised Ichigo faced a grinning Aizen as he seized the moment by quickly knocking the sword away and dealing a quick slash to Ichigo.

"Wha…" was all Ichigo could utter as he stepped back to try and avoid Aizen's ferocious strikes.

"**_I told you you were fucking pushing it you idiot!_**" his inner hollow yelled. "**_I was already drained with the fight inside your soul, but you just had to push it. Don't expect that mask to return anytime soon; I need to regain some energy. Try to survive if you even can you fucking fool._**"

With that, Ichigo was left to fend for himself against a masked Aizen. With a quick succession of strikes, Ichigo found himself succumbing to the pain. Attempting a retaliation, Ichigo swung his sword quickly, but Aizen was ahead of him.

"Hado 1: Sho!"

The kido spell forced Ichigo back and that was all it took for him to fall to his knees. Dropping his sword, he simply stared with blurred vision at Aizen, who slowly walked towards him triumphantly.

"You see Kurosaki, this is the end result when you fight a god," he bragged. "Although you were a challenge, it's time to end this charade now."

He took another step before he was suddenly surrounded. Kyoraku and Ukitake's swords were held to his throat as Kenpachi pointed his sword at his chest. Rukia and Renji appeared in front of Ichigo to check on him.

"Ichigo!" Rukia said to him. "Ichigo, can you hear me?"

Ichigo simply stared in a stupor, not responding.

"How about we try—" Renji started to suggest, but a quick powerful slap from Rukia knocked Ichigo out of his stupor. "—slapping him really hard…" Renji finished with a sigh.

"What the hell Rukia?!" Ichigo asked holding his the cheek that got slapped.

"You wouldn't wake up idiot!" Rukia retorted. "What did you want me to do?!"

"Never mind," Renji said, hitting Rukia over the head to stop their arguing. "You just rest now Ichigo, let us handle the rest."

"Don't be stupid!" Ichigo said grabbing his sword. "You don't stand a chance against Aizen. Let me—agh!" He started to get up but the pain forced him back down.

"You're the one being stupid," retorted Rukia. "Don't worry, you've done your part, now let us do the rest."

Ichigo simply sighed, knowing he lost the argument.

"Time for your judgment Aizen!" Ukitake stated.

The shinigami traitor didn't answer; he simply smiled underneath his hollow mask.

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At the end of his rope, help arrives to Ichigo, but will it be enough to top the monstorusly strong Aizen?

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	41. The Midnight Fistfight

Aizen fights against everyone against all the odds. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

* * *

**41: The Midnight Fistfight**

No more words being stated, Aizen simply increased his spiritual pressure to a massive degree, forcing Ukitake and Kyoraku back a few feet. Only Kenpachi was unaffected, matching Aizen's smile and rushing at him.

Both Kenpachi and Aizen's sword touched and immediately both fighters felt the shock of the others power. Aizen quickly used shunpo to appear over Kenpachi with his sword upraised, rushing down at him. Kenpachi raised his sword and parried the blow, pushing Aizen back again. Before Aizen could move again, Kyoraku and Ukitake were already on both sides of him, rushing with their swords ready.

Ichigo saw a massive explosion of power in the distance as Renji smiled. "My turn; Bankai, Hihou Zabimaru!"

Renji's Bankai appeared and without bothering to look back, said, "Rukia, look after Ichigo; I'm going."

Without waiting for a response, Renji took off towards the battle. Rukia was clearly angered by this as she yelled, "Yeah right! You're not leaving me out of this one!" She turned towards Ichigo. "You're fine on your own right?"  
Ichigo sighed and replied, "Not really, but I know I can't stop you, so just go."

Rukia smiled and without a word, took off towards the battle.

Aizen was lucky enough to hop into the air before the two captains could hit him with their swords. While in the air, Kyoraku aimed a sword at Aizen and declared, "Busho Koma!"

A tornado shot towards Aizen, but he aimed his hand at the oncoming wind and said, "Cero!"

A black cero shot out, demolishing the tornado and flying towards the Captain. Before the cero hit, Ukitake ran in front of him and absorbed the blast with one sword and shot it out the other even faster. Aizen let out a sigh of frustration as he held the same arm out and declared, "Bakudo 39: Enkosen!"

The black cero hit the energy barrier, canceling both attacks out.

"Hope you didn't forget about me!"

Aizen quickly turned around to see Kenpachi grinning widely with his sword raised high. He slammed it down on Aizen's sword, knocking him to the ground with force. Almost as soon as Aizen hit the ground, he jumped back up and tried to retreat a small distance, but was intercepted by Kyoraku, both swords poised to kill.

Aizen lightly hopped as Kyoraku swung both his blades at him. While in the air, Aizen was able to slice Kyoraku's unprotected shoulder open. He let out a sigh of annoyance as the blood shot out and Aizen landed behind him.

Not wasting the chance, Aizen turned 180 degrees and thrust his sword at the wounded Shunsui. Before his sword met, however, Ukitake appeared and parried the blows with both his swords.

"Stop interfering!" Aizen yelled with anger.

Ukitake only stood there with a grimace as he knocked the sword away. "Thanks Jushiro," Kyoraku said.

"Don't mention it," he replied as Kyoraku stood next to him ready to battle yet again.

Before Aizen could strike, Kenpachi appeared again, along with Renji and Rukia. All five of them surrounded the traitor, cutting off any chance of escape for him. "Let's finish this," Ukitake boldly stated.

With that, all five of them charged at once. Aizen thought fast and absorbed some of the mist enveloping all of them, bolstering his spiritual power. All five of them struck true as Aizen spat out blood and his mask shattered. To everyone's surprise, however, Aizen also shattered, letting them know it was an illusion.

"What?" Kenpachi said. "He shouldn't be able to use an illusion with such spiritual pow—"

He was cut off as a sudden wound opened up on his chest, sending blood spurting out. He grunted as he turned around to see a grinning Aizen with a black cero charging in his hand. Before Kenpachi could respond, the cero hit him dead-on.

"Kenpachi!" all of them yelled.

Aizen hopped back from the four of them and let out a small sigh of fatigue. "_I shouldn't use any more illusions; it uses up too much energy._"

Surprisingly, a massive amount of spiritual pressure simply arose from the smoke where the cero hit. It revealed Kenpachi standing there, golden energy surrounding him, the eyepatch no longer over his eye, letting loose his massive spiritual pressure.

Kenpachi was laughing hysterically and yelled, "Let's do this one-on-one Aizen!"

Before anyone could protest, Kenpachi let out another massive wave of spiritual pressure, sending everyone except Aizen flying several feet away. Renji and Rukia landed close to Ichigo, who simply asked, "Kenpachi?"

"Yep," was their response.

"Best not to disturb him then," he cautioned.

"So you can withstand my spiritual pressure without getting blown away, eh?" Kenpachi grinned to the complacent Aizen. "Guess that's a good thing."

Aizen knew the deadliness of Kenpachi and further absorbed the diminishing mist around them, increasing his spiritual pressure to Kenpachi's level. Sensing this, Kenpachi laughed and simply charged at Aizen.

Aizen quickly parried and used shunpo to appear next to him, slashing his right arm. Kenpachi turned around to thrust his sword, but Aizen was faster and slashed his legs. Kenpachi spat out some blood and raised his sword, bringing it down on his enemy.

Aizen barely had the time to jump to the side, but the impact sent him flying. Kenpachi took this chance to rush towards him and slashed his chest. Aizen grunted, got grounded, and returned the blow back to Kenpachi, sending more blood spraying.

An all-out brawl appeared between the two as they hacked, slashed, and tore at each other, waiting for one to fall first. Kenpachi brought his sword crashing down onto Aizen's shoulder while Aizen stabbed the lower half of his chest. Blood spat out of Kenpachi's mouth as the two powerhouses went at it again, neither moving from their spots.

Kenpachi tried to decapitate Aizen, but he quickly ducked and charged a cero in his free hand, hitting Kenpachi square in the chest, but barely wounding him. Aizen used this distraction and hopped in the air and appeared right over the confused Kenpachi, chanting, "Bakudo 63: Sajo Sabaku!"

Golden chains flew from Aizen's hand and wrapped themselves around Kenpachi. "What the…hey!" he said in confusion.

Not wasting any time, Aizen gave the chain he was holding a yank, sending Kenpachi flying in the air towards him. With a grin under his mask, he raised his sword high declaring, "You match me in strength and swordsmanship Kenpachi, but in speed, and kido, you are lacking. That is why you'll lose!"

"Is that so?" grinned Kenpachi, exerting a massive amount of spiritual pressure and started to struggle in the chains.

Before he could reach Aizen, the kido chains shattered, freeing him from their bonds. "Impossible!" Aizen yelled. "Kido can't be broken from brute strength alone!"

"I guess it can," Kenpachi declared as he readied his sword.

Aizen quickly parried his strike, but was unprepared and gave in, earning a slash horizontally across his chest. Letting out a grunt, Aizen quickly sped to the ground, leaving Kenpachi in the air.

The 11th Division Captain quickly caught him and sped towards the earth with a grin on his face. Thinking fast, Aizen brought his hands together and yelled, "Bakudo 99: Kin!"

Before Aizen knew it, his arms were bound behind his back, forcing him to drop his sword. Before he could even complain, two black spiritual fabrics appeared behind him and went crashing down on his back, sending him barreling to the ground. He hit the ground hard, as several iron shafts pinned the fabric to the ground in the shape of an X, utterly trapping Kenpachi.

Effort showed on Kenpachi's face as he tried to break free from the powerful technique, but Aizen quickly walked towards him stating, "It'll take more than brute force to get out of that one Kenpachi."

"Fucking coward!" the distraught Captain replied. "This is no way to fight!"

"You should blame yourself for not knowing any type of kido," Aizen shot back. He stepped right next to Kenpachi's head and raised his sword and prepared to bring it crashing down on Kenpachi's head. "Better luck next time!"

"Tei Touza (Air Current)!"

Before Aizen could bring down a finishing blow, a powerful force of wind shot him away, sending him barreling towards the ground. Before he knew it, Ukitake and Kyoraku appeared.

"Nice save Shunsui," Ukitake congratulated.

"Nice my ass!" Kenpachi yelled. "Why'd you interfere?!"

Ukitake smiled and kneeled right next to Kenpachi. "Couldn't let you die could we?"

"That doesn't matter!" Kenpachi shot back. "A one-on-one fight only stops when someone dies; you had no right to interfere!"

Kyoraku appeared behind Ukitake and sighed. "At such times, you must forget about those little problems and only focus on victory. You stay here Ukitake, I'll deal with Aizen."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ukitake replied. "We have to fake him together."

"Can't have you caught up in my Bankai, now can I?" asked the 8th Division Captain.

"What do you mean? You don't have enough energy to perform Bankai!"

"I have enough," he replied. "Just stay here; I'll be done soon."

Before Ukitake could reply, Kyoraku sped off to deal with the enemy.

Aizen was on his feet now and clearly annoyed. Kyoraku appeared in front of him when Aizen asked, "Must you always interfere with everything?"

"That's just who I am," Kyoraku coolly replied. "But it doesn't matter anymore. Let's just finish this!"

"Sounds good," replied Aizen, raising his sword.

He rushed towards him when Kyoraku uttered the words, "Bankai, **Riborubingu Katen Kyokotsu (Revolving Flower Heaven, Crazy Bone)!"**

Suddenly the wind picked up around the two fighters. Aizen knew what this was and quickly hopped into the air. "No you don't!" Kyoraku yelled.

The wind suddenly started to force Aizen back onto the ground again. Strain showed on his face as he teetered in the air for a few seconds, before he finally broke free and flew into the air.

"I know your Bankai!" the traitor laughed. "You control all of the wind in a half-circle perimeter. All I have to do is be above it and it's all for not!"

Kyoraku sighed as he suddenly shot a large amount of rubble from the ground towards Aizen. He saw them coming and knocked them away, but more kept coming.

"I can keep this up all day," Kyoraku bluffed. "_Not really,_" he thought to himself. "_I barely had enough energy to perform Bankai, let alone used it over an extended period of time._"

"Is that so?" Aizen asked with a smirk. "Well I'll just have to take care of that then."

The remaining amount of mist was blown towards Aizen by Kyoraku's Bankai and was now swirling around him. Aizen absorbed the last of the mist, giving him a burst of speed as he shot towards Kyoraku. The Captain raised his single blade as the traitor went back into the perimeter of the Bankai.

Kyoraku used the wind to force Aizen closer to him so he was within striking distance. Barreling towards his foe, Aizen smiled beneath his mask and raised his sword up; Kyoraku did the same.

They both met at the same time, and sparks flew when their energies came in contact. To Kyoraku's surprise, however, his Bankai suddenly disengaged, making his sword disappear from the source of his spiritual pressure back to his two swords. They were no match for Aizen's powered-up state as his sword cut right through both of them and slashed Kyoraku across the chest, sending blood spraying.

"Sorry, Ol' Yama…I guess I wasn't able to avenge you after all…" was all he could say before falling face-first to the ground.

"SHUNSUI!" Ukitake yelled, catching Aizen's attention.

Before the 13th Division Captain knew it, Aizen was in front of him. "Damn you!" Ukitake said, raising both his swords. "Bankai! Shindou Sogyo no—" he was suddenly cut off by a sharp pain in his chest.

Blood shot out of his mouth as he dropped both his swords. "_Not now…why now…?_"

Aizen laughed and stated, "Bad time for your tuberculosis to be acting up isn't it? I guess luck really is on my side!"

Before Ukitake could react, Aizen was behind him, already walking away. Without gracing him with a word, a massive wound opened up on Ukitake's chest, sending him barreling to the ground.

"Shit!" Renji said as he saw Aizen walking towards them, annoyance clearly showing on him. "We gotta stop him Rukia! Let's go!"

"Right!" she replied. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

"Don't be stupid!" Ichigo yelled, trying to get up. "Get away from here; he's too strong for you!"

"Shut up!" Renji replied. "Just wait right here Ichigo; we'll take care of it!"

Before Ichigo could respond, they both charged at their enemy. "STOP!" Ichigo yelled. "_This is crazy…_" he thought. "_It's because of my weakness that this is happening! My friends shouldn't be the one to suffer!_"

Renji attacked first, yelling, "Hikotsu Taiho!"

A large red blast formed in his Bankai's mouth and was shot towards Aizen. He smiled as he shot a cero at it, destroying it all together.

"Take this!" Rukia yelled. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

Aizen simply swung his sword at it, demolishing the ice wave coming towards him. Renji then appeared behind him swinging his sword at him. "Don't even try, Abarai-kun," Aizen said, stabbing his blade towards him. "You'll die anyway."

Aizen's blade shot through Renji's, cutting it off at the hilt and stabbing him deep in his torso. Renji grunted as his Bankai disengaged and he fell onto his back.

"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!"

A white circle appeared under Aizen, but he quickly leapt away from it towards Rukia with his blade poised to attack. Before Rukia could even react, he slashed her deeply across her chest, dropping her to the ground in seconds.

"RUKIA! RENJI!" Ichigo yelled as he saw both of his friends fall to his powerful foe.

Aizen let out a roaring laughter as he walked towards Ichigo, taunting him. "I told you it was pointless to resist me!" he bragged. "In the end, you will all die! Your friends learned that message the hard way, and look what happened to them!"

"_My friends…?_" Ichigo thought. "_…I'm the reason they're lying there right now. Why am I the only one still conscious right now? I don't understand why!_"

Aizen got closer with each step as he continued, "Now go join your friends and just die!"

Without explanation, a massive outpouring of spiritual energy shot forth from Ichigo. "What?" was all Aizen could ask. "Impossible!"

Ichigo was suddenly on his feet, determination appearing in his eyes. "AIZENNNNNNNNN!" he yelled with anger.

For the first time, Aizen really felt intimidated. "THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!" he yelled back. "THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN BRING BACK SUCH A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY! THERE MUST BE AN EXPLANATION!"

"There doesn't need to be!" Ichigo yelled back. "All you need to know is that you'll die now."

He suddenly threw on his hollow mask and flew towards Aizen. Shell-shocked, Aizen simply stood there thinking, "_Impossible! There has to be an explanation!_"

"Getsuga…" he started, keeping the blast on the tip of his blade.

"_There's no way he can beat me! I am a god! A god, a god, a god, a god, a god, a god, a god. There's no way he can beat a god!_"

"…TENSHO!" he finished, bringing the sword down on Aizen resulting in a massive black explosion.

* * *

**The Battle ends next chapter!**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	42. And the Wheels Stopped Turning

Aizen hits realization as the battle draws to a close. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.

* * *

**42: And the Wheels Stopped Turning**

"Getsuga…"

_How? How is he able to keep fighting? I've blasted him, slashed him, destroyed his mind, brought up painful memories that should have shattered his will, yet still he fights._

Aizen stood rooted to his spot, unnerved by the sight of Ichigo barreling towards him.

_Is it his hollow helping him? No, it can't be; they live to destroy each other. Then what is it? I have mastered everything, kido, zanjutsu, shunpo, hakuda, and even broken the barriers between a hollow and shinigami. So what am I lacking? I'm lacking nothing! I am a perfect being, a god! I tricked all of Soul Society and led an all-out war against them. I am the master of the shinigami and hollows!_

"THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN BEAT ME!" Aizen suddenly roared from behind his cracking mask. "YOU HAVE NO PLANS, NO AMBITIONS, AND NO POWER! I AM THE ULTIMATE, THE ULTIMATE, THE ULTIMATE BEING IN ALL OF EXISTANCE! YOU ARE JUST A LOW-LIFE SHINIGAMI! I WON'T LET YOU BEAT ME!"

"…TENSHO!"

The strike hit hard, and it hit fast. The tip of Ichigo's sword collided directly with Aizen's chest, ripping through his flesh and sending fresh bouts of blood shooting out. As soon as the slash left his body, a large pillar of black shot up, completely enveloping Aizen and shattering his mask.

Ichigo hit the ground with a dull thud. Pain shot through every part of his body. "_That was it,_" he thought, lying on the floor, "_I used up all my spiritual energy with that one strike. Where did it come from? I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. I just hope he's down for the count._"

The sudden feeling of spiritual energy through the smoke made Ichigo think otherwise. As fast as he could, he scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain and raised his sword in a feeble manner.

Through the smoke Ichigo saw Aizen, but in a way he wasn't sure it was him. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat as two massive scars appeared on his chest. Blood was flowing out of his mouth and every sword wound he inflicted. Yet against all of what Ichigo believed, his eyes were surprisingly calm. He was breathing heavy, yet had some inner-peace inside of him. Is it because he knew he won? That couldn't be; he was in worse shape than Ichigo. Surprisingly, Aizen smiled at his enemy.

"I finally see why," he said with a small chuckle. "You had no great plans or any real ambition. All you had was the determination to fight, and the strength never to give up. You never made any plans, yet you never really needed any. You always had this ability to rush into battle and make up things as they went along; I suppose I envy that a little."

Aizen raised his sword in front of him and stared at hit for a while.

"I believed this sword made me a god, but in hindsight, all it did was boost my ego. I believed I could beat anyone, but you've clearly proven that wrong today. I guess in the end, I deserved this, for thinking so highly of myself and having such ruthless ambition that I never felt the need to fight for my friends. Your friends were the one that gave you strength, and that is why you won Kurosaki, and that is why you truly are stronger than me."

He finally dropped his sword, as it hit the ground with a metallic clang. Smiling again, Aizen looked up at the sky through his bloodshot vision.

"So it comes to this," he finally said. "I wonder what's going to be next for me…"

With that, his body finally gave out and he collapsed to the floor, letting loose his final breath and finally closing his eyes. Thus passed Sosuke Aizen, man who sought to conquer the world, and failed.

Ichigo was speechless at what just happened. Did he finally win? Did Aizen say he was truly stronger than him? He found that hard to believe, Aizen had, after all, defeated the Captain-General.

Regardless, Aizen lay dead before him, and Ichigo finally uttered a smile. Dropping his sword and letting out a giant yell of triumph. Doing that, however, made his body hurt even more as the pain shot through all of him.

"Shit…" he said. "Guess he did more damage than I thought…"

Reality then shot back to Ichigo as he collapsed face-down on the floor. He looked around and saw no one around. All of his friends were still on the floor, dying. He then realized that he was the only conscious one left, and if they didn't get any help soon, they would certainly die.

Knowing this truth, Ichigo painfully tried to stand up, but found it wouldn't work. His body was in too much pain and too worn out to do anything. "_This can't be the end…_" he thought. "_I should be the only one dying, not them. Why won't my body move?!!!_"

Ichigo painfully pulled his body one inch forward, but the pain caused him to stop. Breathing helplessly, tears began to spring from Ichigo's eyes. "_Move damn it! Move!"_

Realizing the futility of it, Ichigo finally gave up, gasping for precious air, his head face-down in the rubble. "_So this is how it ends, huh? I guess I knew it always would. With luck, I may be reincarnated in Karakura Town and be able to meet everyone again. Inoue, Chad, Ishida, Karin, Yuzu, Dad…but I should be the only one going through this, not Rukia, not Renji, not anyone else. It's not fair…it's just not fair!_"

With that, a foot forcefully came stomping by his face and Ichigo saw an all too familiar shoe.

"Look at you; you look pathetic!"

Ichigo looked up and saw Grimmjow Jeagerjaques standing there, looking down on him with pity. He was in his unreleased mode, as his sword was put in its sheath.

Despite being able to stand, Grimmjow looked like he had seen better days as well. Wounds from their battle were still visible and even though the bleeding stopped, Grimmjow was looking fatigued. Despite his obvious pain, however, a smile was till present on his face.

Ichigo didn't speak out of shock as Grimmjow looked around. The arrancar's eyes finally rested on the dead Aizen just a few feet away. "So he finally died, eh?" he asked with a smirk. He looked around even more and finished, "Guess he took a few of 'em with him."

"Grimmjow, why are you here…?" Ichigo finally muttered.

Grimmjow turned back to him and smiled. "What the fuck do you mean? Isn't it obvious? You beat me by cheating and yet let me live. Then you go on and beat Aizen. How'd you do that? Did you cheat as well? Huh?"

"I didn't mean to cheat in our fight," Ichigo said wearily. "My hollow just took over and finished the fight."

"Convenient fucking excuse," Grimmjow replied, kneeling down so he could see Ichigo better. "I still wanna know why you didn't kill me."

"Because it wasn't fair, that's why," Ichigo responded. "It wouldn't be fair to do that after my hollow finished the fight. Just know that I'm sorry Grimmjow."

"Sorry? Fucking sorry?!" Grimmjow stood up and kicked Ichigo in the ribs, pushing him on his back so Ichigo could see the sky. "Look at you now!" he continued. "You cheat me out of a fight, kill my leader, and say you're fucking sorry? Bullshit Kurosaki! You're pathetic and you know it!"

"I don't have fucking time for this!" Ichigo suddenly yelled, surprising Grimmjow. "My friends are dying and here you are wanting to know the reason behind a stupid fight! If you really wanna know why, go get the 4th Division and get my friends saved, then I'll tell you why!"

Grimmjow nearly laughed at this. "What are you fucking kidding me? Why the hell would I go outta my way to do that? You're wrong about one thing Kurosaki. I'm not really here to find out why; I'm here just to laugh at how weak you are. You weren't even able to save your friends. I still don't know how I lost to a fucking weakling like you."

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo roared, causing more pain in his body. He didn't care; he was far too angry at this arrancar to care.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" asked Grimmjow. He unsheathed his sword and showed it to Ichigo. "I could kill you right fucking now if I wanted to."

"Then do it," he replied. "I don't deserve to live anyway, not after what happened to my friends."

"I should kill you," Grimmjow started, staring at his enemy. Finally he sheathed his sword and finished, "But I'm not going to."

"What?"

"You deserve to live through this Kurosaki, to live through the pain you have caused. Living with it will make you stronger, make your heart harder. Only then, after years of that, will you be able to beat me without cheating. So I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to bide my time and train. I suggest you do the same Kurosaki, for one day, when I think enough time has passed, I'll come back and want a rematch. Only if you're truly strong enough you'll be a match for me, and don't think I'll hold back."

He suddenly created a garganta and stepped through it. While it was closing, he gave his final words to Ichigo. "Train well Kurosaki, for the next time you hear from me, it will be the last fight you'll ever have."

The garganta slammed shut, leaving Ichigo with a mix of bitterness and pain.

Then as if by luck, just as Ichigo was about to black out, he saw someone running towards him. It was none other than Hanataro Yamada, leading his Advance Team back to the battlefield. He quickly saw Ichigo and ran towards him.

"Ichigo!" he yelled, running towards him. "Don't worry, we'll get you healed up real fast!"

"Hanataro…friends…heal friends…first…please…"

Hanataro understood as he ran towards some healers close to him. "Go get as many healers as you can from the Fourth Division! Hurry, there are people dying here!"

Hearing that seemed to make Ichigo feel a little better, not only a little. Still unsure of the fate of his friends and with his conscience weighing heavily down upon him, Ichigo blacked out.

* * *

**The end is coming next chapter!**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! **All reviews are greatly appreciated.


	43. Epilogue: No Rest for the Wicked

The shinigami look to rebuild after the attack. Enjoy the last chapter!

**Disclaimer: **If you don't understand it by now, you never will...

* * *

**43: Epilogue- No Rest for the Wicked**

"STAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRK WAAAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"

Lilynette did a quick hop while yelling this and slammed herself down on a sleeping Stark's chest; the suddenness of this caused a violent awakening.

"OOF!"

Stark's eyes shot open as he saw Lilynette continuing to jump on his chest in an annoying fashion, chanting, "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake—aah!"

Stark summoned enough energy to throw Lilynette off of his hospital bed and grumble in a sleepy anger, saying, "Damn demon girl…"

Lilynette's sharp ears heard that as she grabbed his sleeping form by his collar and yanked his head up. Not caring for his protesting, she slapped him across the face continually.

"I said wake up and you won't even get up!" she said in a violent tone. "Why are you so god damn lazy?!"

Stark tried his best to fend her off, but his wounds stopped him from doing so.

"Lilynette, if you would please stop; you're disrupting the other patients," Lieutenant Kotetsu of the 4th Division stated in a low timid voice, afraid of angering the violent arrancar.

Lilynette shot around to Kotetsu, unnerving her a bit.

"I-It's just that…Captain Stark is still recovering a-and, you're not really helping with…" she said in an even lower voice.

"He should be healed by now!" she protested. "We shared the same body when we were injured and I'm all better!"

"That's because whenever we split apart again, I keep all of the damage we got while we were together," Stark said with a yawn. "Stupid girl…"

Lilynette shot back around and was about to let her anger back on him, but was stopped when a hand put itself on her shoulder. She turned around to see Unohana Retsu standing there, her eyes closed and her lips curved in a smile.

"Captain Unohana!" Kotetsu said, straightening herself up. "I thought you were busy in the other ward."

"It's all done, don't worry," the Captain said comfortingly to her Lieutenant. She turned back to Lilynette and said, "You're rather disruptive. Some patients are trying to recover; if you could please keep it down."

Lilynette was about to protest when she saw Unohana's face, which replaced all of her anger with fear. Unknowingly, she began to shake as she answered, "S-Sure…"

Unohana smiled at her as she released her grip on her.

"_So cool,_" Kotetsu thought.

"Thanks Unohana," Stark said. "I owe you one."

Unohana looked at Stark with the same look she gave Lilynette and answered, "Don't get too comfortable yourself Captain. You should have been discharged by now, but I suspect it's your own laziness keeping you in here."

Stark flinched, but didn't reply. Soon enough, Unohana walked away, saying to Kotetsu, "Come, we have many more patients to attend to."

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Kotetsu said, following behind her Captain.

When they were gone, Lilynette pouted a bit and rested her head on the side of Stark's bed. "It's been a whole week since Aizen's death, but there's still so much to be done."

"Naturally," Stark replied in his normal cool nature. "It takes a long time to rebuild, especially after such an attack. Just be glad it's finally over."

"Yeah…I guess I just…"

Suddenly the door opened and in walked Tia Harribel. "Hello Stark; you're looking better to day," she said in a pleasant voice.

"Oh, hey Tia," Stark replied, craning his neck to see his Lieutenant. "What brings you here?"

"I can't visit my ailing Captain when I want to?" she asked in a slightly-offended tone.

"I wish you did that during the attack," replied Stark, "but you were nowhere to be found."

"I already told you I was helping the normal shinigami fight off the hollows," she responded, quick as lightning. "You may not have known it, but once Fura arrived, all types of hollows felt the need to come in all around Soul Society, including the Rukongai Districts."

"Really?" Stark said scratching his head, "Guess I forgot."

Harribel sighed as she sat down in the chair right next to Stark's bed. "I thought you might have recovered by now, but I guess that was just wishful thinking."

"Harsh words Tia, I guess you don't know the extent of my injuries."

"I suppose," she smirked, "but I think I got you something that might motivate you to leave sooner."

Stark raised an eyebrow at this.

"It's nothing special, just a new bed with one of those mattresses that forms around your body for the most amount of comfort," she continued with a mischievous glint in her eye.

For once, Stark found himself at a loss for words. He simply laid there thinking of this new item his Lieutenant had acquired for him. Then, realizing what she was doing, he shook off the comment and coolly replied, "Sorry, but that won't work Tia. It won't get me out of this hospital bed faster."

"I see," replied the former Tercera Espada. "Then I'll have to try something else."

She then stood up and began to lean towards Stark. Before he could ask what she was doing, she brushed some hair off of his forehead and planted a light kiss there. This action surprised everyone, even causing Lilynette to widen her eyes.

When she sat back down, Stark just turned to her and opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Lilynette took advantage of the situation and taunted, "You're bright red Stark! Ha ha ha ha ha hah!"

"Shut up!" he immediately shot back to his other half.

Then, without warning, Stark suddenly burst out laughing. He laughed until tears rolled down his eyes. "_I'm not alone,_" he realized. "_I've got plenty of friends, and a true place to call my own._"

Not knowing that Stark was not laughing for that reason, a confused Lilynette looked to an equally confused Harribel. Giving up on trying to figure out Stark's insane laughter, they both shrugged, and joined in his laughter.

* * *

Shunsui Kyoraku continued to sit. Continued to look with a dead stare. In the hospital room of Captain-General Yamamoto, he continued to sit by his side saying nothing.

It had been a week since their battle, and even though Kyoraku had recovered enough to move around, Yamamoto still hadn't woken up. Unohana had assured him he was in stable condition and simply recovering, Shunsui had his doubts. So for the past week, he had sat by his mentor's side, intent on staying there until he woke up.

It was at this time that Ukitake stepped into the room. "You still here Shunsui?" he asked.

"I'm right where I'm supposed to be Jushiro," replied the sullen captain.

Ukitake walked closer and sighed. "You gotta stop this," he said. "Sitting here by his side 24/7 isn't going to make him wake up any faster."

"He was our teacher," Kyoraku stated, "and we couldn't protect him. Hell, we couldn't even avenge him."

"He was the one who told us not to interfere," replied Jushiro. "We can't blame ourselves for such things."

"We should have been strong enough to defeat Aizen. Instead, all we did was get our asses kicked. I think we're getting too old for this."

"This self-reflection isn't like you," he replied. "He's resilient; this isn't something to keep him down. Beating yourself up over him is not helping anything."

Kyoraku looked at his friend and smiled. "I suppose you're right, but I feel it's my duty to stay here until he wakes up."

"I don't think I can change your mind on that," he said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to the 8th Division Captain. He suddenly reached his hand under his captain's haori and pulled out a jug of sake along with two cups. "I just showed up here to try and make it a little easier for the both of us."

Kyoraku laughed as he took a cup. "You always know how to cheer me up Jushiro. And you know what, I think after a few cups of these I won't feel so helpless anymore."

Ukitake smiled as he poured himself and his companion a cup of alcohol.

Yamamoto turned his head and opened his eyes slightly to see this sight. He had remained conscious long enough to hear what they said. Cheered up by their words, he smiled and went back to sleep.

* * *

A hollow shrieked as Kenpachi's sword went straight through it's head.

"Yay Ken-chan!" Yachiru cheered on the back of her Captain.

Both were deep in Rukongai, and the heavily bandaged Kenpachi smiled. He left the hospital early, despite the protests of all of the healers that he still wasn't fully recovered. It was only with the word of Unohana that he was able to leave. He spent his days in various Rukongai districts, fighting various hollows.

He wiped his sword clean from the hollow's blood as he felt another presence. "Ken-chan…" Yachiru started.

"I know," replied the 11th Division Captain, "another hollow just set foot in Soul Society. We'd better hurry to it before that Byakuya bastard takes another kill of mine. Now which way is he?"

"That way!" his Lieutenant said, pointing in a random direction.

"Good!" Kenpachi said as he looked in that direction, unsure if it was the correct path or not. "I gotta keep training if I'm gonna ever catch up to Ichigo!"

"Go Ken-chan! You can do it! I believe in you!" Yachiru chirped.

Without another word, Kenpachi sped off to the direction he hoped the hollow was in.

* * *

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya walked into his office with a vein throbbing in his forehead. He had just been released a few hours ago from the hospital and he came to his office to find mountains of paperwork stacked all over his desk. What the hell was Matsumoto doing this entire time while he was gone?

"Matsumoto!" he yelled in the empty room, hoping his Lieutenant would hear him.

When there was no reply, he resorted to feeling for her energy in an attempt to pinpoint her position. He suddenly found it in the room adjacent to the office, the lounge area.

Without wasting anytime, he burst into the room saying, "Matsumoto, I want an explana—"

He found her sitting in the corner with her back turned to him. To his surprise, he heard sobbing noises and realized she was crying. Knowing why she was, he walked closer to her, saying, "I know you're sad, but you're going to get over it eventually. Don't let your bad memories of Gin overpower the good times you had with him. You just need to—"

He put his hand on her shoulder and she immediately shot her hand forward, grabbing his arm. "Captain!" she wailed, turning around.

"Calm down Matsumoto," he said on reaction. "It's not as bad as you think."

"But it is!" she said, letting go of his arm and moving so he could see the corner of the room.

It was cluttered with shopping bags, each bag with a different store name on it. "I accidentally bought too many clothes, and now I don't have enough money to go to the bar!" she wailed. "I'm going to have to return some of them."

"That's why you were crying?" asked a surprised 10th Division Captain.

"Why else would I be?" she sniffed. "I love all these clothes so much I just can't decide which to return. It's too hard!"

Another vein popped up on Hitsugaya's forehead as he turned around so he wouldn't vent his anger on her. He knew it wouldn't be fair to yell at her after what she's been through. He walked back into the office to get started on some of his paperwork.

After a few minutes, Matsumoto walked into the officer with a few bags in her hand. She smiled and said in a cheerful tone, "I'm going to go return these clothes and then go stop by the bar. Don't wait up for me!"

Hitsugaya sighed as she went through the door. "_She's not sure how to deal with her feelings right now,_" he thought,"_so she goes shopping to try and fill the void. I'm sure she'll come to terms with the loss and learn how to deal with it…eventually…_"

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki lied on his back at the edge of Guillotine Hill, staring at the sky. His wounds were now down to a dull throb in his chest. "_Guess it'll take a while for the pain to go away, no matter how many bandages cover it up_."

He suddenly found himself remembering the battle between him and Grimmjow, and then the battle between him and Aizen. "_Have I really gotten stronger?_" he thought. "_Both times I've relied too much on my hollow and never would have won alone._"

He then thought about his home in Karakura Town and wondered what his friends were doing. "_It's been a long time; maybe I should go and visit them._"

Smiling to himself that this crisis was finally over, he started to sit up. Before he could get up fully, however, he felt a kick to the back of his head, sending him slamming down to the earth.

"Told you he was here," Ichigo heard a voice say through his massive amount of pain.

"Was that really necessary Rukia?" he heard another voice say.

"Of course it was," Rukia shot back. "He was looking so out of it I needed to bring him back to reality."

Ichigo looked up and saw Rukia and Renji standing there. "WHAT THE HELL'S YOUR PROBLEM?!" he immediately said to Rukia. "I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

"Relax," Rukia said a little too calmly. "You wouldn't die from such a minor wound."

Ichigo only growled in anger as he sat himself back up again. "What are you doing here?" he eventually asked.

"What's it matter?" Renji replied. "We're just taking a break from rebuilding some of Soul Society. Something you have yet to help with I might add."

Ichigo flinched at this and after a while said, "I've done more than enough for Soul Society. I don't need to help rebuild."

Rukia and Renji suddenly sat down on both sides of the Captain. "You seem conflicted," Rukia said seriously.

"What?"

"You try and hide it, but I can tell what's going on," she continued. "It's something with your inner-hollow isn't it?"

_("**Don't worry,**" the Hollow assured him. "**I'll still be helping you. Once this is over though, I'll be back trying to take control again.**")_

"No," Ichigo replied. "Where would you get that idea?"  
He soon regretted that answer as it earned him a slap across his face. He held his cheek and asked, "What the hell?!"

"How long do you plan on keeping stuff from us?" she asked with a mix of sorrow and anger.

"I don't mean to keep stuff from you," he said, "I just don't want to get you involved."

"Bullshit!" Renji interjected. "We're your friends Ichigo, and if you can't tell us, who can you tell? You can't do everything on your own."

"I suppose," Ichigo smiled. "But really, there's nothing to worry about. I'm doing just fine."

"You sure?" asked his Lieutenant.

_("**Until next time then…King.**")_

"Yes."

With a sigh, both of them stood up and began to walk away. "Cya later," Renji said, "we gotta go back to work."

"If you do ever have a problem Ichigo," Rukia stated, "you need to tell us. Whatever it is, we'll understand."

"Yeah…"

_("You deserve to live through this Kurosaki, to live through the pain you have caused. Living with it will make you stronger, make your heart harder. Only then, after years of that, will you be able to beat me without cheating. So I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to bide my time and train. I suggest you do the same Kurosaki, for one day, when I think enough time has passed, I'll come back and want a rematch. Only if you're truly strong enough you'll be a match for me, and don't think I'll hold back.")_

Ichigo was alone again. He lied back down and stared at the clouds in the sky. He suddenly reached his hand out and covered it over the sun.

_("Train well Kurosaki, for the next time you hear from me, it will be the last fight you'll ever have.")_

"Don't worry," Ichigo said, closing his eyes. "I'll be ready next time."

Saying no more, he closed his hand around the sun in the shape of a fist.

_And thus the Wheels of Fate stopped turning_

* * *

**Well, it's finally finished! 43 chapters in my first ever Fanfiction. I'd like to thank everyone who favorited/reviewed my story and know that it was you that kept me going until the very end. Nothing much more to say except...**

**See you next story!**


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